Ember

Do you love love? Does your OC feel the same? Look no further for an excuse to talk about everything romance! Plus there's a few about aromanticism in there! I tried to make the questions applicable to most relationships, but you want something a bit more poly-focused, here’s a link to my polycule dynamics game. Remember to send an ask to the person you reblog it from to make sure everyone gets to play!

😍Do they like romance? Have they always hated the idea, or are they a swooning hopeless romantic?

❤️How do they feel about the concept of “love”? What does it mean to them?

❓Have they ever questioned the idea of what “love” is? Where did it lead them?

💞How many times have they been in love?

💭What’s their most formative memory about love or romance? It can be good or bad.

💖What’s the easiest part of love for them?

🖤What’s the hardest part of love for them?

💝What do they want the most from a romantic relationship? Is it what they need?

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨Do they prefer a steady partnership or casual dating? Neither?

🥰Who are they in love with right now, if anyone?

🔥Who was their first love? How did it turn out?

💋How romantic do they expect their partner(s) to be in a relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

💓How romantic are they in a relationship? Does it depend on the partner, or are they moon-eyed with anyone?

💌Which “traditionally romantic” acts (love poetry, flowers, etc.) do they love the most? Would they rather receive this kind of affection, or give it to someone else?

💐Which “traditionally romantic” acts (love poetry, flowers, etc.) do they hate more than anything? When it’s directed at them, or when they’re expected to give it to others?

💟What is the dating culture in their society like? Do they participate in it?

💯What’s their idea of a perfect date?

⏳Have they ever tried speed-dating? How did it go?

📱Have they ever tried dating apps? How did it go?

💍Are they expected by their society to date and/or marry? How do they feel about it?

💜Do they have a “type” of person they tend to date?

📃Do they have high standards about who they date? Low standards?

🧀What’s their cheesiest romantic fantasy? Do they want to recreate it in real life?

💘Do they often “make the first move” when it comes to love? Or are they waiting for the object(s) of their affection to pick up the hints they’re dropping?

📢Are they able to confess romantic feelings easily, or do they clam up at the mere prospect?

💦Is it super obvious when they have feelings for someone, or are they a master at hiding it?

💗What’s the longest amount of time they’ve ever pined after someone?

🤍Have they ever been on either side of an “unrequited love” situation? How did it turn out?

🏃‍♂️Is anybody their “one that got away”? Have they ever “gotten away” from someone else?

💔Have they ever had to break up with someone? Why?

🔂Have they ever broken up and then gotten back together with the same person? How many times? Did it work out in the end?

❌Have they ever been rejected after a confession of love? How did they handle it?

🚫Have they ever had to reject someone else’s feelings? How did it go?

🤏Have they ever had a romantic interest “stolen” before? Have they ever made a move on someone they knew a friend was interested in?

🤔Do they consider “having a crush” and “being in love” different things? Where’s the line?

🤥Have they ever lied to make a relationship more viable? Did it end well, or blow up in their face?

😳Have they ever been broken up with in a situation where it was kiiinda their fault? What was the issue?

🍨What are their methods for getting over a break-up?

🐸Do they tend to jump from one relationship to the next, quickly entering another as soon as the previous one ends? Why?

💡Have they ever been in love with the idea of someone instead of the actual person? What was the aftermath?

💛How important is being in a relationship to them?

📅Have they ever stayed in a relationship long past its expiration date? Why?

💥Did any of their relationships end catastrophically? What happened?

🤝Are they still friends with any of their ex-partners?

😲Have they ever been cheated on before? What happened?

👺Have they ever been the cheater? Were they ever found out?

1️⃣How do they feel about the concept of finding “The One”? Is it an aspiration or something they roll their eyes at?

👀How do they feel about the concept of “love at first sight”? Do they believe in it?

😨Do they have any “taboo” or unpopular opinions about love or romance?

💚Are they aromantic? Have they considered it?

✋Are they loveless? [for an aromantic perspective on lovelessness check out this essay]

💙Have they ever been in a queer-platonic relationship? Would they consider it?

💕Where do they draw the line between friendship and romance, if at all?

✊Do they practice relationship anarchy? [for more information about relationship anarchy, check out this guide]

🔢Are they polyamorous? Have they considered it?

💫How would they feel if, in a monogamous relationship, their partner asked them to try polyamory?

🗂️Do they have a hard time separating their romantic feelings from other kinds of love? Which ones?

⁉️Do they often feel like they’re “doing love wrong” in their relationships? Anything specific?

📈Do they often prioritize romance and love in their life? To the detriment of other relationships?

😡Are they a jealous partner?

👥Are they jealous of any of their friends’ or family members’ relationships?

😥Are they often left behind in love? Were they single and watching all their friends get married?

🤷‍♂️Would they be happy without romantic love in their life?

🚒How important is physical attraction to their romantic relationships?

👯‍♂️Are sex and romance conflated in their culture? How does this impact them?

🥴How often do they expect sex in a romantic relationship? Is it a deal-breaker if expectations aren’t met?

🙅‍♂️How would they feel about being in a sexless relationship?

👫Have they ever been in love with someone who was already in a relationship? How did it turn out?

📚Do they like romance as a genre? In books, movies, games, etc.?

✅Do they have a relationship they can look up to as a positive example of romantic love?

👎Do they have a relationship that’s a perfect example of “what not to do” in their life?

🤕What are their “hang-ups” or insecurities about love and romance?

👄Are they an effective communicator in their relationships?

🦸‍♂️Have they ever played match-maker with their friends or loved ones? How did it go?

🧐Have they ever been “match-made” by someone else? How did it go?

💒Is marriage an important consideration for them? Out of choice, necessity, social pressure?

👰Is marrying for love a rarity in their culture, or commonplace?

💎Would they want to propose to someone, or be proposed to?

🎉Do they want a huge showy proposal, or something more private?

🎁What’s their ideal wedding, on a scale of “courthouse wedding with 5 people maximum” to “100+ guests, massive ceremony, all-night reception”?

👗What sorts of clothes do married couples wear in their culture? Do they plan on wearing the traditional clothes, or doing something different?

🔓Have they ever had to break off an engagement? Why?

🏆What kind of love is prioritized in their society? Does it impact how they’re able to love?

🌹What’s considered “romantic” in their society? How does that impact their relationships?

👪How has their family influenced their ideas of romance and love?

🙋‍♀️How have their friends influenced their ideas of romance and love?

⛪How has their religion or faith influenced their ideas of romance and love?

🗺️What are some cultural customs surrounding love and romance that they practice?

👑Does their culture have any formal courting customs? Have they been taught how to properly court?

💄Are people pressured to fit a specific beauty standard in order to be “romantically viable”? How has this impacted their love life?

🙄Have they ever dated someone for their family’s sake? How did it go?

🤨Have they ever “pity dated” someone? Have they ever been “pity dated” by someone else?

🥣How does their culture view a “serial dater,” or someone who refuses to settle down?

➕Do they care about people’s “body count,” or how many relationships they’ve been in?

👶Would they ever be in a relationship with someone who already had children?

🤱If they ever ended up single with children, how would they feel about entering a new relationship?

🌑Would they date a widow? Would they date again if they were ever widowed?

✏️If they had the chance to erase one past romantic mistake, what would it be?

🩹Do they often give romantic advice to their friends or family? Is it good advice?

Commission for @embercub

Thank you for your support!

I never guessed that in my adulthood, I’d be relating to Calvin’s parents as much as I do in this comic.

Anyway, the next night we watched a thing about some pig man who is supposed to live in Vermont. People said it had claws and a pig nose but walked upright like a man. Now, I happen to know that sideshows used to shave bears and present them as pig men. So every piece of evidence they gave of this monster sounds to me like a bear with mange.

So now the running joke in our house is that everything is bears. Aliens? Bears. Loch Ness monster? Bear. Every cryptozoological mystery is just a very crafty bear.

This blog is against AI. It's clear, isn't it? I don't spend entire days writing in a language that isn't mine, bothering my native speaker friends about whether this or that is correct, reading synonyms on wordhippo with the same devotion a Christian would read the Bible, melting on the floor because I can't come up with a plot, questioning my writing abilities because said plot never comes up, invoking God to ask Him why, why did you give me this hobby and not something less gut wrenching,

only for an AI user to feed a machine and be done in an hour.

No, sweetheart. You gotta bang your head against concrete like I do. You gotta let your soul guide your fingertips on that keyboard. You gotta go through writing droughts that pick your life apart, only to feel your imagination be replenished on a whim, at the worst possible moment ever—in the shower, during sex, while driving, during an exam, at work.

It's a tough life, that of a writer. It's not always stories you're proud of. You'll produce shit you hate, filled with grammatical horrors and with a plethora of clichés that will make you retch.

But it's my shit. I made that shit.

I don't often go on a rant about AI because I think it's a given, and I want to keep my blog centered on fandom and whimsy. But a reminder sometimes it's needed.

None Pizza with Left Beef is 10 years old today.