#though you can be part of a polycule

[bewitched-hours]

ok so wait i have like evil fluff fantasies so you can ignore this one but like, idea: killers are so out of it that in the middle of a match they give up and seek out reader for comfort and affection and act completely out of character (maybe theyre like supa sick and delirious or smth? idk man up to you)

(dont whip me pls 🙏)

Dw, I love evil fluff too, it's delicious- (I say as I get dragged off the stage) Idk if you wanted headcanons or a oneshot so I hope headcanons will be enough (And if you want a oneshot for any of them or multiple, I'll be happy to fulfil that request as well~)

Let's give the reader They/Them for this!

1x1x1x1

It was... Weird to say the least.

What you thought would be a chase to the death turned into a cuddle session in a small building besides an already done generator...

You knew better than to question it and hesitantly tried to ask what was wrong. Turns out 1x has been sick... Somehow...

Now you were stuck serving as some sort of hugging pillow while she quietly complains about his current state... Just keep running your hands through her hair and hopefully he'll forget about the round?

You ended up being threatened not to tell anyone about this and of course, you're too terrified to go against her wishes...

But by the end you were so confused while the other survivors questioned where you were and how 1x was somehow gone.

Somehow, you managed to lie your way out of it and they actually believed you managed to keep the killer occupied. You were a sentinel with a self-healing ability so it wasn't too unrealistic...

C00lkidd

At first you thought he was gonna chase you but you took note of his unusually sluggish behaviour...

Despite your better judgement, you decided to get close and ask if he's okay.

He collapses into you almost immediately, crying about his head hurting and wanting his dad... Who wasn't chosen for this round but you figured there was a chance 007 could see what was happening, even if that might not be such a good thing...

You immediately go into some sort of parental mode, gently patting his head and assuring him everything would be fine. You even promised him that it'll go away. Probably just a fever anyways...

You somehow manage to stop him from crying and let him fall asleep in your arms... How adorable!

Although... Now you can't move because he was holding onto you so tightly... at least you could reposition yourself to sit down and have him sleep in your lap while you continued to pat his head.

And just like you thought, 007 saw it all and thanked you at the end of the round for caring about his kid. Maybe you'll be getting closer to him soon!

Bluudud

Just like with C00lkidd, you were convinced you were gonna die but noticed he sounded more sickly...

You calmly and quietly led him to one of the abandoned buildings and had him lay down on top of you to see what was up.

Surprisingly, he listened to you and grumbled about everything being too loud and hurting his head. Probably another fever like C00lkidd...

Regardless, you listen patiently and pat his head for comfort. He only groans in response and tells you he's not a baby but he doesn't pull away or attack either...

He actually ends up falling asleep on his own, mumbling something about not needing to be babied but the way he clung to you made you think otherwise.

When the round was done, you openly told the other survivors what happened but made sure they knew not to expect Bluudud to just be friendly for everyone.

At least you knew he saw you as a person of comfort now...

Pr3typriincess

You were pretty much cornered and thought you were gonna die but... You got her hugging you for comfort instead.

Like Bluudud, she complained... A lot...

But either way, you somehow convinced her to find a quiet spot to let her handle whatever pains her with you gently reassuring her that everything will be fine.

She falls asleep the fastest, although mumbling about you being much better at this than the other killers which... Yeah, you could see why...

You end up muttering praises to her to help her sleep easier and you could've sworn you heard her call you "Mama" at one point.

You could've just about exploded... But you luckily didn't.

When the round was over, you made sure the other survivors knew to go easy on her. Because after that whole fiasco... You might've felt a sense of protectiveness wash over you and now needed to speak with 007 and Guest to see if this was really some parental feeling or if you were just acting like this because you remembered she's a kid... Of course it's option 1.

Azure

He caught you while you were working on a generator and while pleading with him, you noticed he couldn't seem to get anything comprehensible out.

Surprisingly, he didn't kill you, just dragged you off to a quiet spot where he could just use you as a living pillow.

You were confused but the tentacles holding you in his grip and his unusually high temperature told you all you needed to know before you started massaging his scalp and quietly telling him to take it easy.

What wasn't surprising was how dramatic he acted about it...

He was full-on telling you he's dying and shit while you're just over here trying to comfort him with his hat long discarded to avoid its annoying screeching.

The way he asks you not to tell anyone was simply too adorable to refuse, making you question how this is the same killer that made you fear death just a minute ago.

Once the round ends, you refuse to talk about what you were doing at all and accepting the suspicions of the other survivors... Why tho-

John Doe

You knew immediately something was wrong when he wasn't using his spikes like normal.

You decided to call Jane over, being close enough to her to know they've been married.

She has you look for a quiet spot before leading John over there. Not like that was particularly hard.

Surprisingly, you both end up in a firm but not really painful hold, like he needed two pillows instead of just one.

He can't really get a thought out but Jane just guessed it was a simple fever and began instructing you to help her comfort him...

Was it weird that you enjoyed this? Nah, you'd probably be the only one thinking that...

But Jane was just happy for a moment like this and you didn't want to take that from her... She more than deserved it...

She's slightly disappointed when the round ends but thanks you for the help and you two proceed to talk about her past again by the docks.

Anything you'd like to request/ask? Check out my pinned post first and I'll be happy to write up whatever you want!

[r0semultiverse]

shipping this shipping that blah blah blah

Hear me out!

💞 SURVIVORS POLYCULE 💞

[ahyesthesufferingoftvteens]

Sooooooo this post is one of those rare “What’s Cursi’s life like?” Posts, and it’s technically related to The Hollow for reasons I will soon explain.

So I’m getting married soon. Surprise!

Kind of getting married, sort of. About as married as you can get when you’re polyamorous and live in America and your partner is part of a DID system (Specifically a part of @valarioncy // @eklesia-system’s system). No legal documents or any big party; we’re just gonna have a little ceremony in a park while I’m in a pretty dress and then eat at a restaurant.

Still a big deal. Especially for one of my other soon to be spouses: Helios, who’s very big on family as his source is Spanish.

I prefer the gender-neutral term Joyfriend with partners I’m dating, but soon I’m gonna be a WIFE to two very lovely people. It’s kind of jarring to realize. I didn’t think I’d ever find people who love me so much that they’d put a ringpop on my finger.

So how is this related to The Hollow?

…So the other man I’m marrying is technically an adult Skeet fictive.

Not just any adult Skeet fictive though; a BOOTLEG-VERSE adult Skeet fictive.

I’m marrying Sleet y’all.

[kumakuma-circus]

just randomly remembered that during my like 10+ attempts at the shadow yukiko fight i more or less consistently ran out of revival beads so yosuke was just dead (well unconscious but whatever) on the ground for like half the fight gfhfjvhfhfhd-

[cementcornfield]

this meme but it's the '23 rookies discussing the pros and cons of letting mike g into the 'cule

HAHAHAHAHAHA god actually though

Is That Old Man Dick Worth It? 🤔🤔 (Answer: Yes!)

[fortune-maiden]

Pleeease can I have more of the TGCF Cyrano (but not really Cyrano) AU? 🥺🙏

ANON I LOVE YOU! THIS ASK LITERALLY MADE MY ENTIRE DAY!

And also got some words flowing!

pei ming briefly turned into wombat in the beginning there whoops

-

There were few things in Heaven that could escape Pei Ming’s notice.

No, that was a lie.

There were, in fact, a great many number of things that regularly escaped Pei Ming’s notice. They simply weren’t important things in his opinion. Pei Ming knew the value of information and kept an ear to the ground and the communication array at all times, but he wasn’t interested in petty gossip and the daily lives of heavenly officials.

(Unless those heavenly officials happened to be women, in which case he was very interested, so that he could be at the right place at the right time when they inevitably sought him out.)

Pei Ming was the god of love, so it was only natural that there would be one topic above all others that would warrant his attention.

That’s right – He was here to love and be loved! Embrace love and spread love!

Pei Ming was here to romance women and play matchmaker.

And he was very-temporarily out of women.

“You’re wrong,” Shi Wudu said with a sigh.

“I’m never wrong. Not about this.” Pei Ming’s grin took up most of his face. His arm sat comfortably on Shi Wudu’s shoulder. It wasn’t supposed to be there, but no amount of smacking it with a fan could see it removed.

“I know all about the inquiries you’ve been making into that caged little bird of yours. What can I say except you’re a man with exceptional taste. And quite the reckless streak.”

“Even if I have, that’s my business, not yours.”

“Nonsense. A blossoming crush is very much my business.”

“Again, it’s not a crush. I simply think she’s interesting.”

“Coming from you, that may as well be a proposal.”

Shi Wudu shoved him. The arm around his shoulders remained firmly in place. Pei Ming laughed an uproarious laugh. He always loved the look on people’s faces when they were made aware of their feelings. Particularly when the people in question were his sullen young friend who had been cursed with a handsome face and a rotten personality.

He had been shocked when he first heard of it, of course. But spring came for everyone in the end, and the greater surprise was that Shi Wudu just had to pick the hardest woman in Heaven to get close to as the object of his affections.

Although, really, Pei Ming shouldn’t have expected anything less. Fortunately, he loved a challenge.

“You’ve already made several critical blunders, my friend,” he remarked, turning serious. “It’s never good to start a relationship off with public humiliation.”

“I was not the one humiliating her.”

“But you were the instigator. Thanks to that she knows who you are, but what kind of impression do you think you’ve left her with? If you approached her now, she would head straight in the opposite direction.”

“You sound awfully sure of that.”

“I heard it from the old girl’s mouth herself!” Pei Ming cleared his throat and made his best exhausted gloomy expression. “If my path were to cross Lord Water Master’s now, I think I would turn around and head straight in the opposite direction.”

“She does not sound like that,” Shi Wudu snapped and rapped Pei Ming’s hand with his fan a few times again.

“How would you know? You’ve never talked to her.”

“And you have?”

“Of course! We’re friends from the same hometown!” Well same general region, anyway. Pei Ming’s most famous exploits either had him fighting wars abroad or stationed in Xuli’s royal capital so it was a little known fact he himself was actually from the southern parts of the kingdom and spent most of his non-warring years there. And it was an even littler known fact that the very Nangong Jie made infamous by her writings in the royal capital was also originally from those same southern parts, a fact Pei Ming expertly deduced within an hour of meeting her by virtue of her light regional accent.

(And as for how their paths came to cross in the first place back then, well, she was a woman and he was at the right place at the right time.)

“You’ve made an enemy of her jailer, and she isn’t particularly fond of you right now either. It must be hard being so unpopular.” Pei Ming’s other hand now patted Shi Wudu’s chest consolingly and Shi Wudu grew resigned to the fact that this was what a friendship with Pei Ming entailed.

“If she’s truly so petty, then perhaps I’ve underestimated her.”

“It’s not about pettiness, it’s about an innocent woman becoming the collateral damage of your reckless words and you acting like it doesn’t concern you.” The consoling pats turned into light smacks. “Fortunately, your blunder is also your opportunity. As long as you say and do everything I tell you, we can salvage your reputation with Nangong and get her to see your hidden merits.”

“This is ridiculous.” Shi Wudu shoved Pei Ming once more and this time Pei Ming let go so he would have enough room to cross his arms and scowl. It was important to give him enough space for that so that his mind had the freedom it needed to weigh the pros and cons of Pei Ming’s offer. Shi Wudu was a businessman, after all.

Sure enough, the next words out of his mouth were, “What’s in it for you?”

He eyed Pei Ming like a suspicious cat, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble. Pei Ming laughed once more.

“You’re my friend! What better reason is there for me to help you!” he clapped Shi Wudu’s shoulder good-naturedly, earning another smack for his trouble. “But if you really need one, then it’s that I think you and Nangong really would fit well together. And she could use someone like you in her corner.”

And most importantly, Pei Ming’s smile was so radiant that it shone with a heavenly aura of its own, it will be fun!   

[victorluvsalice]

-->So it was back home for the trio, where Victor fed Toothy AGAIN (hungry hungry cowplant), while Smiler went to sell the painting they’d made earlier and Alice sniffed around and had a scavenge, finding some literalite (a rare, very-cool-looking purple metal) –

Before heading to the jewelry-making bench to make her first set of jewelry! I decided to keep things basic for her first piece – quite literally, in fact, as the simplest set of jewelry you can make is the “Basic” set. XD I thus had her make a Basic metal bracelet out of the silver she’d picked up on her travels – I didn’t want to mess with anything more elaborate, in case it ended up botched (and thus couldn't be charged later on the crystal grid). Fortunately it didn’t, and she ended up with both an excellent-quality metal-wrap bracelet and Gemology skill 2. :D Maybe next time we’ll try something with a crystal in it!

-->As for Victor and Smiler – well, Smiler was feeling rather flirty after getting a message from a friend about a successful date she’d had, and Victor was full of confidence from having his familiar and getting a new spell. So, while Alice was making her jewelry, I had Victor go give Smiler a suave kiss, and sent them upstairs to Victor and Alice’s bedroom...

For a pillow fight! XD Okay, I was looking for the “Bed Makeout” interaction you get with the Cute Romance mod, but when I saw that I was like “I have never tried that and it seems like the kind of thing Smiler at least would do.” XD So yes, they went upstairs and promptly started thwapping each other with pillows until Victor ended up yielding to Smiler’s superior pillow skills. THEN they went ahead and had a bed makeout session (the interaction’s actually under the “romance” category when you click on a Sim – “Physical Affection,” natch). XD Once they’d had their fun, Smiler went to have a bath in their nice tub, while Victor dismissed Darkwing (who was probably like "can you dismiss me before you get frisky next time?") before heading down to his cauldron to do some experimenting. Alice finished up her bracelet while he was doing that and headed upstairs to resume writing her latest book, “Who Stole The Tarts” (on Smiler’s computer, of course), while Smiler headed downstairs to fix a wind turbine before going to chat with Victor and see how his experimenting was coming...

And that is where I left them, as it was getting a bit late and it was officially past midnight in the game. XD Whew – busy day, but a fun one! I am getting into them traveling around the various worlds in the game with their food stand and selling all sorts treats – it’s good gameplay, and makes sure I get them out of the house on the regular. XD Though speaking of their house, I’m starting to wonder if it’s time to revamp their lot...or perhaps move altogether. I like their little farm, but I don’t know if it really has the space for everything I want to do there. At the very least, it would be nice to add a basement for the nectar-making and aging...I’ll have to think about this some more!

However, next time we don't have house revamps – instead, we have party fun! Because I wanted to have Smiler send summer out on a high note, and because they hadn't seen some of their other friends in a while. What kind of party did they host? You'll have to find out next time –

But I will give you this hint: if you know anything about my experiences in Sims 4, you will know I consider this party at least LIGHTLY cursed.

[winter-jay-official]

Am I the only one who doesn't really like any of the 'canon' stardew (datable characters) ships?

[nepenthic-delirium]

𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓: 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

ᝰ.ᐟ SUMMARY: What's an average day like living with your two darling chrysos heirs? Well to put it lightly...it's not for the weak.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: MYDEI + PHAINON X FEM!READER (POLY!)

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: general mydei+phainon shenanigans, reader's a bit of a grouch but can you blame her?, Aggie and Tribbie mentions, the polycule is polyculing. FLUFF!!! :3

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 1.2k

𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: DID NOT PROOFREAD WE DIE LIKE KINGS. I wonder why Mydei is sleeping with his back towards reader?? Def not cuz of his tenth thoracic vertebrae hahahahahaha + Also I love myphai/phaidei so much theyre so silly. First fic on this blog yipppe!!!

The room was suffocatingly warm. 

Of course it would be, you surmised, as you were stuck between two behemoths of men; the Deliverer himself and the undying Son of Gorgo. 

However, it wasn’t bad. You actually quite liked it, even though Phainon’s limbs were intruding into your space and his leg haphazardly thrown across yours, or how Mydei’s back was turned towards you as he slept like a rock, his strawberry-blonde hair tickling the tips of your nose. 

It was nice, sweet even. You liked being in the middle, their warmth like a blanket on a cold night. Mydei, with his harsh yet caring words, and Phainon, with his rough yet soft touches. 

However.

“Get off ‘fme,” you grunt, nudging Phainon off you. God, he was heavy. “You're smuggling me.” 

Phainon groaned, snaking one hand under your waist and pulling you closer to him. He nuzzled his face into your neck, and you could feel the sly grin on his face. Bastard, you think with annoyance filled with love. 

“Nooo,” He whined, his voice high and pitchy. “I like being near you.” He parted from your neck, his lips jutting out in a comical pout. 

“You wouldn’t deprive me of my fav-” 

Slam! Your eyes widen as Mydei’s unamused face appears in your peripheral vision, his hand clutching the pillow he was just laying on. You turned your head to Phainon, who was groaning, a hand on his head. 

“What was that for, you brute!?” Phainon huffed. 

“Must you start annoying everyone in the morning?” Mydei retorted. “Your voice makes even the droma’s irritated.” 

“What-? My voice is perfectly fine!” 

You groan. Ah yes, what a very typical, average morning. 

-

“You two better not make a mess in the baths–again.” 

Phainon rolls his eyes, casting a sideways glance at Mydei. Mydei huffs, his voice rough as he responds, “Phainon was the one who started it anyway.” 

Phainon opens his mouth to respond, but you cut him off. “If I see you two arguing even once, I’m gonna make Aggie kick you out. Then I can finally have a girls night with her and Tribbie.” 

They reluctantly agree, and you hum in response, before taking a glance at them. Phainon’s silvery hair looked almost white in the bright sunlight of Okhema. His eyes, the color of the midday sky bright as he animatedly talked about the new sale for weapons in one of the shopping districts. Mydei’s eyes are straight-ahead, honey-colored eyes impassive. However, just from his body language, you can tell he’s listening, humming along and leaning his body towards Phainon’s direction. 

Once you reach the baths, you can already see people crowding around you three as they catch sight of the glimmering Deliverer, and the Crown Prince of Kremnos. You roll your eyes, pouting as you sarcastically drawl, “I wonder if they’re here to gawk at me this time.” 

Mydei laughs, the sound both foreign and yet beautiful on him. “Truly, they’re here to behold your beauty.” 

Phainon grins, adding on, “Bet they’re jealous we have the prettiest lady at our side.” 

You grin, deciding to join in even though you know the opposite of Phainon’s statement was the truth–that people, both the men and women of Okhema, were seething with rage that you were Mydei’s and Phainon’s significant other. You still vividly remember the time you saw a woman sobbing at Mydei’s favorite pancake place just because she thought you were dating him. You wonder how she’s holding up now that it’s pretty much known throughout Amphoreus that you are.

You enter the baths, heading up to the Chrysos Heir’s bathing section. Although you weren’t a Chrysos Heir, you had sidled up to Tribbie to aid your case to Aglaea, who happily responded. Besides, the perks of the Chrysos Heir’s V.I.P section was pretty good–the water was always the perfect temperature, and you always had the best girl talk with Tribbie and Aglaea, and sometimes with Hyacine as well if she visited.  (Not to mention the fact you got to see Phainon’s abs…) 

As you settle into the water, you hum contentedly as you sink in. The water, as always, calms you down. A perfect solution to the two stresses in your life–a strawberry-blonde prince and a blue-eyed deliverer. 

That’s until you hear Mydei’s words ringing through the bath. 

“Well, if you're so confident, why don’t we test it out, Deliverer?”  

“Why so boastful, Mydei? We all know who won the holding-your-breath-under-water competition last time!” 

“HKS! We’ll see about that.” 

Your eyes open in a flash. “No!” 

-    

You rub your forehead in annoyance as you scowl. Aglaea’s milky green eyes are filled with barely concealed exasperation. Tribbie’s smile is a bit strained. 

“You guys are so annoying.” You can feel your eyes twitch as Phainon opens his mouth, probably to blame Mydei for the incident at the bath. 

“Mydei provoked me–” 

“How despicable, blaming someone else for your–” 

Aglaea coughs, her eyes narrow and her voice filled with frustration. “Must you two bicker at every given moment?” 

“Just imagine how it is at home.” You roll your eyes, foot impatiently tapping the ground as you cross your arms. 

“Is it really that bad…?” Tribbie grimaces. 

“Yes.” You deadpan. 

-

“Mydei, has anyone ever told you your cooking is heavenly? Out-of-this-world? Something that not even mere mortals can comprehend?” 

You take another bite, savoring the taste on your tongue. The flavors tied so well, and holy Kephale, it just melted on your tongue. Phainon seemed to agree as well, wolfing down cuts of steak that Mydei had (generously) put on his plate. 

Dinnertime was always your favorite–even though the sun never set in Okhema, it marked the end of an eventful “day” in the Holy City. Not to mention, Mydei and Phainon were always tired after their…competitions, and it always warms your heart to see them not bickering for a change.  

You can see Mydei’s bashful grin, the tint on his pale cheeks. “If I remember correctly, you told me the same thing yesterday. And the day before that, too.” 

“I mean–” Phainon stuffs another piece of meat in his mouth, chewing before swallowing. “--she’s not wrong, now, is she?” 

Phainon and you wash the dishes after dinner, much to your dismay as Phainon can’t help but get his and your shirt’s wet from yucky, dish water. After you finally get done for the day, you brush your teeth with Mydei and Phainon, practically squished in the middle.  

Phainon jokes that he thinks he sees a pimple on Mydei’s cheek, to which Mydei retorts that Phainon needs to get his eyes checked. You think you might have to get your eyes checked with how many times you rolled your eyes just today. 

 When you finally make it to your bed, you curl around Phainon (whose in the middle this time) and Mydei hums some well-wishes of sweet dreams, you can’t help but smile. 

These two might be insufferable, annoying little brats, but you can’t help but love them. 

After all, they’re your insufferable, annoying brats.

@ NEPENTHIC-DELIRIUM. do not plagiarize, claim my work as your own, translate or share my posts on any platform outside of tumblr.

[gazstations]

For the serial killer au: how did they meet? And how on earth did the polycule form?! I am absolutely enthralled with this story!

Ah, great questions!!!

I’m really trying to think out of the box here, hehe.

I like the idea that reader is a published author. She doesn't have a big portfolio, but she has published two crime/mystery books. Simon (because I headcanon he’s an avid reader) stumbles upon them. And gets some *cough* inspiration *cough.*

Who is this little doe that has such creative ways to describe murder?

Showed up at a book signing for your second book. Played the part of awkward and gentle well until he left with your number. I think at this point the lads were already established in their poly relationship. And Simon wants you apart of it—whether friendship or relationship. He doesn’t care.

It’s amazing you didn’t fright when the latest killings that appeared on the news were very similar to your stories, just changed enough to make it seem like merely a coincidence.

You fall for Simon easily. Unsure of why he seems hesitant to just kiss you or do anything.

Simon eventually does reveal he wants to introduce you to 3 important people. You, excited to make more friends, invite them all over for dinner. You like to cook, it’s a perfect excuse to show off the new wine glasses you just got as well.

Oh doe, inviting them into your house was basically an invitation.

I think the other three saw quickly why Simon was smitten with you. The way you talked about your books proudly, how you said you liked being as accurate as possible. You were perfect. You basically provided the ideas, they did the dirty work.

I don’t think they waste time with anything. Quick and tactical wins the race. They all cornered you that night, assuring you it would all be okay and they would take care of you.

They meant it in every way. You don’t ever have to work another day. They also meant they were going to make your legs jelly and brain so fried you were hooked on them forever. They’re very obsessive, don’t know how to be anything other than intense.

You don’t even know how you ended up with four men locked in on your every move. Unfortunately, they don’t have tv out where you live so you can never see the news reports. You only ever share your ideas with them, so you would only wonder why there are killings eerily similar You’re smart, you’ll piece it together one day.

I think meeting Simon to the time of the polycule was a little drawn out, but once they all agreed they liked you, there was nothing stopping them.

Just ask Gaz, once upon a time, he was in your position as well. Preyed on, snagged, and then manipulated to be just like them.

They would never make you kill though. They just need you to keep using that pretty little brain of yours.

I hope that answered everything for you!! Thank you for the ask!

SERIES MASTERLIST

[astracora]

Poly!LADs headcanons - Caleb Edition

(Because I have no idea if I'll ever get around to writing his intro to the polycule so I wanted to shove some ideas into a post.)

Masterlist

- The one who has the most trouble adapting to the concept of the polycule.

- Reintroduced after the polycule is formed, a year after his death.

- His reintroduction is obviously a bit rough, not only is he actively combative with the MC, but his actions push them further into the comfort of the polycule like a wounded cat.

- After they have eased the relationship out, it's some time before they talk to him about the polycule. Not sure how to broach it.

- He already knew, and he already stewed about it for a long time. (He's still stewing about it.)

- They've mourned him, after loving him, and moved forwards though, he can't push and demand when he knows that without the polycule they likely wouldn't still be there.

- His first meeting is rough, he can hide as much as he wants behind smiles, but Sylus is very good at reading people, as is Rafayel, so they can see through him. (Rafayel is no stranger to fake smiles). Xavier is jealous so reacts most to Caleb, while Zayne is somewhat calm, but wary. On one hand he has a childhood friend back, on the other hand depending on how much he knows. If he knows about Caleb's involvement with EVER, a great deal of distrust, and some real anger (that he tries not to show).

- Clashes most with Rafayel and Zayne. Rafayel because the two are almost opposed in many ways (Caleb's lack of sensory input and reluctance to touch, vs Rafayel as a Lemurian where his senses are SO attuned to his lovers, as well as the memory focus, and also the fact that both hide part of themselves behind a reasonably jovial mask, but Raffy is a lot better at hiding.) Zayne because the two do not agree on the methods of protecting and caring for MC (Keeping them hidden/caged, and the actions of siding with EVER with the intent to keep MC safe (which Zayne consistently states is a stupid plan.)).

- Understands Xavier, still doesn't like him.

- Depending on the advancement of his story, he has the potential to come to terms with the fact that accepting help and acknowledging that he's not alone in his drive to protect the person who means the most to him, helps him step past his self assigned cage.

- With enough time and trust, he accepts the polycule's help tending to his arm. They tinker with it and work with specialists to try to make it capable of sensory responses. It's kind of an exchange that keeps them on good ground. A kind of 'look we're not enemies, you have to lower your hackles' kinda thing.

- He hates the situation a lot less when he holds MC's hand for the first time again, and can feel the heat of them through his cybernetics.

- Builds models with Sylus, though it's more he builds models, Sylus suggests ways to bring them to life as real mini robot weapons. If the two are left alone, they WILL create tiny weaponised planes.

- Rafayel has taken to using them as target practice for throwing daggers.

- One crashed into Zayne's office door, waking him up from a nap, and made him think they were being attacked.

- Xavier slept through the whole thing, and woke up to plane shrapnel in his hair (he's used his light blade to knock a few out if they have disturbed his slumber though.)

- MC does not get enough sleep, and almost banned the planes, until Sylus and Caleb both promised to stop flying them indoors. Hooked up lil cameras to the things and started flying them around linkon and as far as they could before the things ran out of signal. (They got some killer nature recordings.)

- Caleb is another member of the insomnia crew. He's woken up alongside Zayne a few times, and made tea for them both. (Only for MC to toddle in not long after, and curling up between them with their own warm drink, exhausted and miserable but also unable to sleep.)

- Caleb helps take over some of the cooking, he also tries to find tech Xavier can use that won't catch fire, reducing the amount of cooking incidents by about 50%. (If asked he'll say he's doing it to keep MC safe... Xavier's smile when he cooks a full and very good meal has shit all to do with it. He swears.)

- Is the most averse to affection, originally sees the polycule as a means to an end, after all other people are just background noise to his real focus. Unluckily for him, it's hard to keep that mindset up when you spend that much time with people who don't have chips in their head, and also don't want to hurt the things you care about. The anti EVER squad are best placed to combat his 'world for just us two' energy. As well as question his intent. (Especially with how important MC's independence is to them.)

- Will not begin physically and emotionally warming up to the rest of the lads before he finally overcomes the wall keeping him from MC. After he has finally stepped over the line, he basks in it, then begins to let himself become more human again.

- He and Xavier ARE the protection squad. You want to bother the polycule? Can't promise you won't end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

- Zayne does try to rein this in. Sylus finds it hilarious. Rafayel cannot comment because he was thinking about stabbing that dude too. MC thinks they might need to start taking migraine medication because please guys, one nice meal out.

- He's tidy and multi talented. It takes a WHILE before he finds a room for himself in the house, isn't really sure what to fill it with because he struggles to refind his identity as a person. It begins with filling it with model planes, it advances into photos and memories, as well as his DAA stuff as well. Becomes a place he can keep things that tether him to himself.

- Has mended clothes for the others, really wants to know how Raffy tears so many shirts. No he cannot get acrylics out of a white shirt, why did you let it stain!?!!

- His puppy dog eyes are a weapon of mass destruction. NO one is safe. All have fallen to those eyes. 'But he just looks so sad' 'I know he does but why does that mean we now have two puppies in the living room' 'MC wanted them!' 'Caleb we don't have the space or time!!!'

- Uses all his old social media accounts, like an absolute fool. (Aren't you dead dude why are you using all ur old numbers????) Unfollowed most people, kept MC. Didn't follow the polycule. Was missing cute photos and things they'd posted, grumpily and (not that) reluctantly followed them all.

- He and Zayne occasionally have a kamaoji-off.

- He has taken Sylus flying. He did turn his head away so the dragon man could have a moment of sad recollection.

- Does still compete constantly to be the best person to assist mc in their day to day. The competitions can get aggressive and over the top. The lads do get carried away.

- Is the most scared of losing everyone, it does keep him awake at night. Does plan eventualities with the polycule. Does feel comforted knowing that if he fails, he's not leaving MC to deal with everything alone. Assures himself and everyone that he won't fail. He has his tether to get back to, after all.

[crimeronan]

i've seen a couple people in the notes of this very good post about fictional polyamory by @thebibliosphere say things along the lines of "oh, i've been doing it wrong :(" or "how do i know if i did this right??" or "i should probably give up and start over, i wrote this badly :(" and. no!!!!

(i AM seeing far MORE people say "oh, this clarified and helped me so much, i think i know how to fix issues i've been having with my own story" which. YES!!!!)

listen. if you're a monogamous person who's writing a polyamorous relationship, and you've been focusing mainly on The Triad and All Three Together All The Time as the endgame, that's literally fine. that's a perfectly acceptable and strong starting point for your plotting, imo. you do not need to give up on a story that you've started like this.

but the things discussed in the post Can and Should improve your execution!

you can keep the same plot beats and overall relationship arc 100%. polyamorous relationships are infinite in their formations, every one is unique. "basically a monogamous romance but with three people" Does exist, as a relationship type. you're not hashtag Misrepresenting (TM) poly people with it

BUT i do think it will help to read up on some poly people talking about how their relationships Differ from monogamous ones.

so i have outlined some basic important concepts about polyamory.

MORE IMPORTANTLY though, i've broken down some questions that you can answer throughout the writing process to strengthen your individual dyad relationships, your individual characterization, & your characters' individual feelings/experiences. this is a writing resource have fun

future kitkat butting in to say i spent over two hours writing this and it definitely needs a readmore. it is also NOT comprehensive. but everything should be pretty simple to follow! feel free to reblog if you find it helpful yourself or just want to reward me for how gotdan long this took KSLDKFJKDL.

i've grabbed quick links for a couple of the important concepts, some have SEO pitches in them but the info largely seems to be good. (if i missed anything Egregiously Gross on these sites i should be able to update the links with better ones later, since they're under the readmore.)

sidenote: this is NOT meant to be overwhelming, despite the length. if you can't read all of this, that's Okay. you do not need to give up on your writing.

here we go:

compersion!

compersion is a BIG thing in a lot of polyamorous relationships. it's joy derived from seeing two (or more) of your partners happy together, or joy derived from seeing your partner happy with someone else.

compersion is really important as a concept because it highlights that every individual relationship within a polycule is different -- and that that's a GOOD thing. it's sort of the inverse of jealousy.

by the "inverse of jealousy," i mean that instead of feeling left out and upset and possessive, you feel happy/joyous/content.

i can use personal experience as an example: it's a Relief for me when my partners receive joy/support/sex/romance/etc that i can't (or prefer not to) give them. and i love seeing my partners make each other laugh and be silly together.

it's 100% okay for a poly triad not to be together 100% of the time, it doesn't mean that the third member is being left out or not treated equally when two people do things alone together.

(i have individual dates with my partners all the time! PLUS larger 3-and-4-person date nights.)

if the third member DOES feel jealous or left out, then the polycule can have a conversation to figure out what needs/wants aren't being met, and solve that. this happens semi-regularly in my polycule, as it will happen in any relationship (including monogamous ones)! it's just part of being an adult, sometimes you have to talk about feelings.

metamours!

a metamour is someone who is dating your partner, but ISN'T dating you. this may not be relevant for people writing closed three-person romantic sexual triads, but it's a super helpful term to know.

the linked article also lists different types of metamour relationships with some fun phrasing i hadn't heard before. the tl;dr is: sometimes you'll be domestic cohabitation friends, sometimes you'll be buddies with your own friendship, sometimes you might not interact much outside of parties, every relationship is different.

there's no one-size-fits-all requirement for metamour relationships. sometimes polyamorous people will end up dating their metamour after a while (has happened to me), sometimes polyamorous people will break up with one partner for normal life reasons, but remain friendly metamours.

the goal of polyamory is NOT for EVERYONE to fall in love. it is 100% okay if this happens in your story, it happens in real life too! but it is also 100% okay for characters to be metamours without ever becoming "more than friends."

(sidenote: try to kill any internalized "more than" that you have when it comes to friendship. friends are just as important and special and vital as partners.)

of course there are a million ways for messiness to occur with metamours within a complex polycule, exactly like with close-knit platonic friend groups. however this post is not about that! there's enough "here's how polyamory can go wrong" stuff out there already, so i'm focusing on the positives here :)

open versus closed polyamorous relationships!

i'm struggling to find an online article that reflects my experience without directly contradicting at least SOME stuff. so i'll give a quick rundown

google has a bunch of conflicting definitions of open relationships and whether open relationships are different from polyamory. the general consensus seems to be that an open relationship prioritizes one partnership (often a marriage), but that each partner can have extraneous flings or long-term commitments (most often sexual in nature).

this is not typically how i use the term wrt polyamory. the poly concept is pretty simple. a closed polyamorous relationship is one with boundaries like a monogamous one. there are multiple partners in the polycule, but they are not interested in having anybody new join said polycule.

an open polyamorous relationship tends to be more flexible -- it just means that IF someone in the polycule develops mutual feelings for a new person, it's fine for them to become part of said polycule if they want to! the relationship/person is open to newcomers.

some groups will need to negotiate this all together, others will just go "haha, you kids have fun." just depends on the individuals!

with open AND closed polyamorous relationships, the most important thing is making sure that there's respectful communication and that everyone is on the same page. but there's no one-size-fits-all way to do that.

i wish i could give you guys a prescriptive "You Must Do It This Way" guide, but that's.... basically the opposite of what polyamory is about, HAHA.

feelings for multiple people!

i was gonna tack this on to the previous section but decided it warranted its own lil bit.

a defining feature (....i'm told?) of monogamous relationships is that a monogamous person only has feelings for One individual at a time. they only want a relationship with one individual at a time. or, if they DO have feelings for multiple people simultaneously, they're still only comfortable dating one person at a time & being exclusive with that one person.

this is perfectly fine!

the poly experience is generally different from this. but once again..... polyamorous people all have different individual perspectives on this.

for me, i have never been able to draw hard boxes around romantic vs sexual vs platonic relationships, & i love many people at once. my personal polycule lacks many strict definitions beyond "these are my chosen people, i want to forge a life with them indefinitely, whatever shape that life takes"

some poly people feel explicit romantic or sexual attraction to multiple people at once, some poly people feel almost no romantic or sexual attraction at all. i'd say that MOST poly people feel different things for different partners, which is not a bad thing!

some poly people are even monogamous-leaning -- they have just chosen one romantic partner who is themselves part of a larger polycule. (so this monogamous-leaning person has at least one metamour!)

or alternatively, they might have one romantic partner AND a qpr, or other ways of defining relationships. (this is a factor in my own polycule!)

i made this its own point because if you're writing a straightforward triad, this is unlikely to come up in the story itself -- but it's worth thinking about how your characters develop/handle feelings outside of their partnerships.

like, is this sort of a soulmateship, 'these are the only ones for me' type deal? in which they won't fall in love with anyone else, and can be fairly certain of that?

that's pretty close to typical monogamous standards but you Can make it work. just be thoughtful with it

alternatively, can you see any of these characters falling in love Again after the happily-ever-after? and how would the triad approach it, if so? what would they all need to talk about beforehand, and what feelings would everybody have about the situation?

it's worth considering these questions even if the hypothetical will never feature in your actual canon, because knowing the answers to these questions will help you understand all of the individuals & their relationship(s) MUCH better.

i've been typing this for nearly two hours and there's a lot more i COULD say because... there's just a lot to say. i'll close out with some quick questions that you can ask yourself when developing the dyad dynamics within your triad

first, take a page and create a separate section for each individual dyad. then answer these questions for every pair:

how does each pair act when alone?

how do they act differently alone compared to when they're with their third partner?

are there any elements of this dyad (romantic, sexual, financial, domestic, etc) that these two people DON'T have with the third partner?

if so, what are they?

are there any boundaries or hard limits within this dyad that aren't shared with the third partner?

if so, what are they?

partner 3 goes out of town alone for a few weeks. what are the remaining two doing in their absence?

(doesn't have to be anything special, it's just to get a sense of how the two interact on a day-by-day basis without the third there)

what is something that each partner in the dyad admires about the other -- that they DON'T necessarily see in the third partner?

what problem do These Two Specifically need to solve in the story before their relationship will work?

how is that problem DIFFERENT from the problems being solved within the other two dyads?

doing this for ALL THREE dyads is VITAL imo. that way, you develop complex and nuanced and different relationships that all have unique dynamics.

those questions should be enough to get you started, i hope

then After you've charted the differences in relationships, you can start to jot down similarities in the overarching triad. what does one person admire in Both of their partners? what are activities that all three like to do together? what are boundaries or discussions that all three share?

but the main goal is to figure out how to Differentiate each relationship!

a polycule is only as strong as the individual relationships within it. if two people are struggling with their own relationship, adding a third person won't fix that.

(UNLESS the third person is the catalyst for those two to, like, Actually Communicate And Work Their Shit Out. i just mean that the old adage of "maybe if we just add a third-" works about as well to fix a miserable non-communicative marriage as, uh, "maybe if we have a baby-")

AND FINALLY.

if you're not sure whether your poly romance reads organically to poly people, you can hire a sensitivity reader with poly experience. if you can't afford that, you can read up on polyamorous resources like a glossary of terms & articles actually written by poly people. (and stories written by poly people!)

you can also just.... ask poly people questions, if they're open to it. i like talking about polyamory and my own relationships so you're welcome to send asks if u want, i just can't guarantee i'll answer bc my energy levels fluctuate a lot and i don't always have time.

polyamorous people are in an uphill battle for positive representation right now & so the LAST thing i want to see is authors giving up on their stories bc they're worried about getting things Wrong. well-meaning and positive stories that treat this kind of love as normal, healthy, & aspirational are So So So Needed. even if you guys end up with some funky-feeling details.

seriously, if you're monogamous then you probably don't have a full idea of Just How Nasty a lot of people can get about polyamory. i wish it DIDN'T mean so much for you guys to want to write nice stories about us, but it does mean a lot. and it means a lot that you want to do it WELL.

in conclusion. this is not a prescriptive guide, it's just a way to raise questions. and also, you all are doing FINE.

[mochinomnoms]

If you dated one of the twins and for some reason something would happen to them, do you think their brother would take care of the reader? Maybe Azul too?

I think it depends on how we think the Leech family (and Ashengrotto if we include Azul) view familial relationships and how someone who marries into the family integrates into it.

If going with the reader is also the Prefect, then I believe the family would not only welcome them in with open arms, but be exceptionally attentive as they would have no family other than Grim in the world. I could see the other twin wanting to ensure that their brother's spouse is well taken care of, though their parents would also do that.

I'm inclined to say that Jade is more likely of the two to actively check in on you and care for you as your brother-in-law. Realistically, he's the more likely of the two to stay home and work with the family, so he'll be there often to care for you. Floyd is much more likely to seek out his own interests and things, though he would come back to visit often as he does get homesick. He would be more likely to check in once in a while and take you out to catch up and make sure you're okay. Though if he also had decided to settle down and work with the family as well, he's also taking care of his sibling-in-law!

Azul I think depends on how close he is to you and the twins. I'm a firm believer that he is close friends with them and stays in contact with them far after graduation. If Azul is just a friend, then I can see him checking in semi-often and ensuring that you're okay, offering you his own services and protection, though it's not really needed when the Leech family is here. If he is part of a polycule with your husband, then obviously Azul is taking great care of you and mourning alongside with you. In this case, you're extremely well taken care of.

[piosplayhouse]

wait ok pio my beloved mutual pls explain nu carnival to someone whos never heard of it. like i have heard of it and ive read some gay ass smut about it thats not important dont worry about that. pls pretend im a beautiful nu virgin and present the basics. what do you actually Do in the game like what are the basic mechanics

Nu: Carnival is a game in which a kind and beautiful orphan boy named Eiden grows up to be a beautiful and kind freaky switch sex toy designer and then finds a jerk off crystal and gets isekai-ed into a fantasy land where gorgeous men around him keep going into qi deviation and need him to fuck them. The reason these guys' energy is out of whack is because they have gems attached to their bodies Steven universe style which soulbound them to Eiden's (at the beginning of the game absent and mysterious) dad 5 million bajillion years ago before the fantasy land became a kingdom. It's a wacky premise but in all seriousness the writing is spectacular, especially for a gooner gacha game. Nu: Carnival's greatest strength is undeniably the bonds between the characters who find themselves in Eiden's polycule. Eiden is a fantastically written character and it's easy to see why he deserves 11 boyfriends. The bonds between his polycule members are also great, you can tell that they all genuinely have chemistry with each other and aren't there just because of Eiden. They also all have individual motivations and tragic back stories that make it hard to dislike any character. The climatic (heheh) parts leading up to intimacy scenes are also included in this btw. The majority of them are pretty naturally written and convey a lot of emotion that further expands on the characters' multifaceted personalities. We're gooning but in a sensitive and contemplative way. There are dick sucking scenes in this game that have made me cry. Eiden also fucks himself at some point and that's also pretty hot.

The game itself sucks I cannot not recommend it enough it's horrible and will ruin your life. Worst fucking gacha in the world and gameplay itself is a constant slog of auto battling in a desperate effort to get mats to upgrade characters occasionally punctuated with sometimes fun but also mostly infuriating strategic battle strategy levels. The porn draws you in but you can't even goon while playing because you'll be too busy wanting to kill yourself over drop rates. Awesome theme songs though and there's a really beautiful animated cutscene for it. My kingdom for a full nu carnival ova

(actually the first theme song is my favorite. My friend and I were trying to find a place that had it on their karaoke machines but alas we could not 😞😞)

[loganwritesprobably]

Dating the Cross Guild would be like..

A series of headcanons

Content/Warnings: Headcanons for solo Mihawk, solo Croc, solo Buggy, and a four way polycule, SFW, GN!Reader (one mention of periods made but using GN language)

Mihawk is a closet romantic

His primary love language is acts of service, but he also enjoys quality time

Cooking is something he enjoys already, but in particular he enjoys cooking for you. If you have any food sensitivities/allergies/struggles - you best believe he's all over that. He'd want to help in any way he could

When he's away for long periods, it's hard, but when he returns he spends the first few hours being very tactile - he's like a cat

Gifts don't come often, but when they do they aren't often expensive, rather they're things he thinks you will find useful. He likes a practical gift

Generally, he'll pick a single pet name and stick to it, something you'd expect from a refined man like him such as darling or love

When it comes to dates, you don't go on them often, but he prefers a quiet night in to going out. He doesn't like other people - just you.

Dates involve a particularly fancy home cooked meal with the expensive ingredients, candles on the dinner table, and often a (non-sexual) massage wherever you need one

He's great with his hands. Swordsman ship requires a certain level of dexterity, and he loves to use that to help however he can, see: massages

Mihawk isn't particularly tactile for the most part, and PDA certainly isn't his thing, but he won't hesitate to claim you as his if it comes into question

When you're at home he's more prone to small touches, like brushing his hand against the small of your back when he passes by or kissing you quickly before getting out of bed in the morning

He's an early riser, but he moves so silently that it almost never wakes you up, but he also remains awake late as he needs very little sleep to function (he's an insomniac). However, he is a fan of a good nap. If you catch him getting ready for one of his little cat naps, he's only too happy to open his arms for you to join him

The one thing you aren't allowed to touch is his garden - that's his baby, and it isn't for you. He's very happy to share the fruits of his labour though

He asked you to move in with him very early in the relationship, which had surprised you considering how traditional he was otherwise. He just wanted to make sure you'd be there when he got home after extended trips away because the only thing better then coming home after a trip, was coming home to you

l

Crocodile loves to spoil you first and foremost. It's his way of showing anyone who looks at you just who your partner is

Though his gifts are often blatant displays of wealth that connect you to him, he's careful to ensure they match your style so you enjoy wearing them

His primary love language is, naturally, gift giving but physical touch comes in at a close second

Physical touch isn't something you initially anticipated as a love language from him but in time it came to make sense - he loves to be touching you in any capacity. When you're sitting together working, he likes to sit just close enough that your knees touch; in public he likes to guide you around with a hand on the small of your back or an arm around your waist/shoulders

He's a complete workaholic and often that cuts into the time that you have to spend together, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care

When you do get to spend time together, he ensures that it's spent doing things that you want to do. He's great at remembering things you remembered once in passing that you wanted, and then giving it to you at a later date

He picks a few solid pet names for you, but they're used in different contexts. One for when you're irritating him, one for in public, one for in private when he's feeling soft

He's a cuddler, to your surprise. He often stays up late working but when he does eventually join you, he'll shuffle in close and wrap his arms around you. It's a way for him to de-stress

While he won't completely cut his smoking habit for anyone or anything, he's willing to reduce the number of cigars he smokes if it negatively impacts you (e.g., it gives you headaches, you have asthma, you have quit smoking yourself)

He struggles with telling you how he feels with words. It takes an age for him to tell you he loves you for the first time, but he tries to make sure you can tell how he feels through his actions

Crocodile runs warm, as does the sand he can turn into. If you suffer with periods, Crocodile can and will use his sand to create a little hot sand pillow which works like a hot water bottle, and it stays warmer for far longer.

This can also be used for muscle pain for those who don't have periods

He's quite particular about hygiene, and expects you to maintain a similar level of cleanliness. If it's something you struggle with, he'll drag you along with him to keep you clean. Depression or not, he won't let you smell, even if that means bathing you himself

Buggy is very loud and proud about you being his partner

He's very public about your relationship, and PDA has never been less of an issue. He loves to hold your hand and smother you in kisses no matter who is watching

Physical touch and acts of service are his top love languages, followed closely by words of affirmation

This clown cannot do enough to show you how much he loves you

Buggy is a restless sleeper, which can naturally cause some issues when it comes to sharing a bed. To assist with this, Buggy got himself a sensory sack (similar to his big red onesie outfit for Cross Guild) that contains all his splitting limbs so you can hold him through the night

He's the little spoon 100%

He loves to plan dates with you, even if you aren't really doing anything. All his circus shows are dedicated to you, too, which for him is the height of romance

He worships the very ground you walk on

Buggy often compares himself to others, worrying that he isn't enough for you, but he'd sooner die than let you do the same. There's no world in which he lets you think like that for even a second

Buggy has called you every pet name under the sun, including stupid ones that he knows are silly like sugar waffle or love bee. The sillier the better in his opinion

He tells you about his time with the Roger pirates, which it takes him a hell of a lot to talk about. He wants you to know every piece of him

He has a weird thing for letting you wear his hat. It's not a sex thing, he just really likes seeing you wear it. Similar to the appeal of letting your partner wear any of your clothes, he just has a particular thing about his hat

No matter what you're doing, Buggy loves to distract you. It doesn't matter if it's important or mundane, Buggy is in your space and trying to make you pay attention to him

In that vein, Buggy is incredibly needy. He wants attention from you at all times, and often will do whatever it takes to get it

He likes to stay up late and wake up late, which often means waking up with an armful of clown in the mornings, and half asleep begging for kisses before you get up for the day

Buggy is one hell of a contortionist, even without using his devil fruit, and his knowledge of the body makes him quite the chiropractor too. If you have an ache or a pain Buggy knows what muscle to stretch or joint to pop to make it go away

One of his favourite things to do is to call you his spouse/husband/wife - he loves seeing how you react, and the surprise written on the faces of strangers when you say it. Even the crew have started to call you "the Captain's spouse/husband/wife"

You weren't sure how you'd managed to convince them to agree to share you. It was a frankly mammoth task, but you'd done it

There'd been a lot of tension at the beginning, with neither Mihawk nor Crocodile wanting to run into Buggy when wanting to interact with you

That tension had devolved, more than once, into fights. You'd gotten injured just once before they agreed to a permanent truce

Eventually, the tension turned into the three of them becoming involved in their own relationships

They all still spoil you in their own ways, almost competing in a weird friendly way, and you just bask in the attention

You almost never share one bed. Between your varied sleep schedules, Buggy's wriggliness, and Crocodile's sheer size, you often have at least one person sleeping on their own each night - nobody minds though, because they know if they slept alone one night, they certainly won't the next

At first, they'd bickered about fairness when it came to spending time with you, but over time they'd come to agree that it would simply be proportional. Crocodile, by nature of his work, tended to get less time with you each day and so if ever there was a free day, he got priority for dates. You generally saw Buggy the most day to day, so he learned to concede to your other partners when they wanted your time

After their own relationships developed, more group outings were planned

Your first group date was a picnic on the beach near the bananawani pond, and even though nothing has seemed to go right all day, you thought it was perfect

None of the relationships between you went public, outside some of Buggy's highest ranking crew members and Daz Bones. The guild was already targeted by the marines, announcing your relationships would only make it worse, as you'd have a stronger more united front

Until the wedding that is

You often shared meals together, and eating dinner together became compulsory. It was the one time every day that you could guarantee everyone was taking a break, and spending time together. Breakfast happened some days, others it didn't. Lunch was a lost cause

Inevitably, arguments cropped up often, but you all improved your communication over time and while yelling still happened often, it at least tended to be more productive yelling and it was rarely taken personally. There were just a lot of big personalities trying to engage and it created volume

Requests are open for x reader things! I will write basically ANY kind of reader - male, female, non-binary, gender neutral, trans, disabled, black, white, latino, asian, neurodivergent, etc

AO3 | Fanfic Masterlist | Request Rules | Fic Trades Guide | WIPs

Tags: @claryeverlarkf

[dduane]

Unusual creative moments

So this is why when work circumstances force you to drop a digital-art project in mid-production, you leave yourself some kind of goddamn note as to what it was about and where you were going with it.

...Briefly: Some weeks ago, for some damn reason, I picked up the Daz Genesis 8 figure that appears in the middle of this scene. I think it was discounted, and it amused me, and I had an idea of maybe finding it useful down the line. So I grabbed it.

Then time went by and I got very busy with some other things, and last night I was going through some render files looking for something else, and I ran across the file that underlies this and thought "WTF is this...?" and opened it.

...Well. Don't ask me what happened, or why I set it up in the middle of a duplicate of the render in this post, which some of us have seen before. Possibly I set it up after we got home some night in late December or thereabouts after having a few at the pub. (Or because I'd been doing something to the file that day, and knew the lighting in this one was pretty good, and wanted to see how the figure behaved.)

But it's certainly... a take. A sight gag, anyway. And made me laugh very hard in the middle of the evening, thus doubtless causing some confusion upstairs. :)

(Disclosure: As it happens, I've actually soft-pitched to Henson a couple times over the years. Once at their London offices, just after Spock's World came out, as part of the general (and frankly ridiculous) buzz of Oh look, who knew a woman can write space opera full of surprisingly hard science and respectable-quality prose?! that for some reason surrounded the UK launch while I was doing press there. And once in their old LA studios in the... late 80s, I think? when there was some interest there in the Young Wizards books. Nothing came of either visit, but it was nice to be invited.

Not sure if they'd invite me again after seeing the above, though. Oh well. ...In any case, the polycule is plainly still in shambles.) :)