u/Roselia24

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

Yes i know as an author i can do wherever i want. But it doesn't hurt to see how your ideas could be better. i have tried.

So i have created my humanoid "hulk" like people. aka the tanks of my world. They are all naturally plus sized. They live in the coldest part of my universe. Their powers and looks are inspired seals and nematodes that live in Antartica. I've asked fb to narrow down the 8 different variations of what their species/country name could be, and these were the top 3. Which do you like the best?

• Nemanay (knee-muh-nay)
• Nemazhai (knee-muh-zye) *rhymes with eye
• Nemaroq (knee-muh-rock)

I am so freaking exhausted. 😩 i feel like i am going insane. I need to do something vastly different otherwise i think i have to start doing my business part time and at the very least do a part time job.

​

Nearly everything i have tried i have failed so i think i need to ask for anyone who actually have follow through advice or connections to help a girl out to succeed.

​

Ok, heres the skinny...

​

So i started my business on jan 1st 2023. So i am basically in the middle of year 4. Technically 3.5 years in at this point. For context so yall know what advice to give me, I handmake and sell outdoor and travel products accessories like dry bags, passport wallets, touchscreen phone crossbody wallets, lunch bags and more travel and activity themed items.

​

And i have done craft fairs to death. This year i have slowed down significantly. I am exclusively only doing the fairs i made over $1000 from over the last 3 years because i can't do another $0 sales day or $200, $400 sales day when the free was like $75 to get in. Or sometimes more. So basically no new craft fairs. I'm done testing the waters there.

​

I have gone to so many networking groups. So freaking many. The first 2 years of business, i think i was doing more networking than actually working on my business. I barely went to any year 3 and this year i been to 1 but only It because it was at a store where they owed my money from my month i sold there.

​

I was basically almost going every day, weekly, biweekly and monthly. I went to mixed groups (mostly), woman only groups and etc. And although, i did get some decent advice. i was also usually the youngest person in all of those groups or one of the youngest. So i figured I'm surrounded by so much wisdom. But in hindsight majority of their advice panned out to only a few sales but not any expansion of my business.

​

People from these groups did buy from me but thats just individuals. I would even bring in several products to show-and-tell while i did my 60 second commercial. That help me get recognized more in the groups.

​

I even presented my business as a guest in some of those groups. (I get so nervous to speak in front of a room full of people so this helped me become more confident). I got leads to local stores in my area and some a bit further out. And every single one was a disaster. Low sales at each and every single only of them. Either broke even or i was below the booth fee cost. I was in like 9 stores too. Some were month to month and 2 were 6 month contracts. Never doing those again.

​

But the only one that panned out was a connection i got from the airport. A girl in one of my networking groups owns a drive-in theater and she had a craft show in the morning before they start showing movies in the evening to night. And the fair was trash. Made almost nothing. I mean it did rain too. But who knows if that would have changed anything. Anyways, a lady who gets to decide what products goes into airport gift shop where i live just so happen to be there and she loved my products and thought the airport was a great fit for them. I had to send another person above her who makes the final say, several free products with me paying the shipping. 😥

​

But it did work out for the best because she approved like 4 different products wholesale and ordered 12 of each. Now i get a email to restock about every 3 months, sometimes 4 months. Sometimes 6 or 12 items from each product category. But this still isn't enough. And yes i am now aware of the abdce, an organization that helps specifically small business owners get their products into multiple airports. Its just taking me a while to finish the application. It's s like 17 pages, but you also need like 15 additional documents to include. So im still working on that. Hopefully, i can finally finish by the end of this week.

​

Yes i have a website. But i don't get consistent sales. Yes i know i gotta work on advertising and getting my results up on Google but that cost money. And i need more sales for that.

​

Yes i am on all social media platforms too. Even YouTube. No I'm not consistent. Yes i know i have to be for it to work. I am working on that as i type this. I even randomly got a sale from Australia and britian, and yes they paid the shipping that cost just as much as the product. This is how i know my products are good. I just need to get seen by the right people.

​

I've even walked into my nearest AAA and asked for an audience with the person who decides what is sold in AAA travel stores. And i got an over the phone interview and the guy seemed interested. I email him my contact info, my website some photos and I was ghosted. This happened a lot sadly.

​

Dry bags are my #1 most popular item so I connected with a guy from my networking group who owns a kayaking business. Actually he went out of his way to talk to me. We met, i brought samples to his office, we discussed prices and everything and once again i was ghosted. And yes i did follow up but only once because if i have to beg then that probably means they don't want me.

​

I was recommended to this lady who owns a dance/yoga and canoe business to sell my dry bags. She only sold the small solid colored ones. Mine have nice patterns and prints all over it. And she seemed interested. But again, ghosted once more.

​

This actually happened a lot when someone would introduce themselves to me becuase they saw me at a networking group and was intrigued. we would connect, they would get excited about doing business with me but then ghost me. Which is so weird because they approached me to do business.

​

Well, another one of the few times where I went out my way to approach a business, i went to several pet stores to sell my dog leashes, collars and bone shaped poop bags. And the employees were all impressed and each store didn't have exactly what i was selling. (People travel with their pets too you know) So perfect. But the boss was never at any of those stores. So the managers always took my card and said they would hype me up to their boss but nothing.

​

So thats my history of what ive been doing these past few years. My bad this was longer than i intended it to be. And as for my future, i don't know how to go to the next level. 99% of the things I tried, i failed st. Or it at the very least bought me minimal sales.

​

So i need help for legit things i can do that can turn this little handmade business into the next big conglomerate. I can't handmake stuff for the world. I would need to get into manufacturing at some point, but i need to make the sales to do that first.

​

So advice?

​

P.s. i know its not a quality issue. I literally get complimented all the time on my quality. Some have even complimented that my stuff looks factory made because my stitches are that perfect. 🙃

​

I am so freaking exhausted. 😩 i feel like i am going insane. I need to do something vastly different otherwise i think i have to start doing my business part time and at the very least do a part time job.

​

Nearly everything i have tried i have failed so i think i need to ask for anyone who actually have follow through advice or connections to help a girl out to succeed.

​

Ok, heres the skinny...

​

So i started my business on jan 1st 2023. So i am basically in the middle of year 4. Technically 3.5 years in at this point. For context so yall know what advice to give me, I handmake and sell outdoor and travel products accessories like dry bags, passport wallets, touchscreen phone crossbody wallets, lunch bags and more travel and activity themed items.

​

And i have done craft fairs to death. This year i have slowed down significantly. I am exclusively only doing the fairs i made over $1000 from over the last 3 years because i can't do another $0 sales day or $200, $400 sales day when the free was like $75 to get in. Or sometimes more. So basically no new craft fairs. I'm done testing the waters there.

​

I have gone to so many networking groups. So freaking many. The first 2 years of business, i think i was doing more networking than actually working on my business. I barely went to any year 3 and this year i been to 1 but only It because it was at a store where they owed my money from my month i sold there.

​

I was basically almost going every day, weekly, biweekly and monthly. I went to mixed groups (mostly), woman only groups and etc. And although, i did get some decent advice. i was also usually the youngest person in all of those groups or one of the youngest. So i figured I'm surrounded by so much wisdom. But in hindsight majority of their advice panned out to only a few sales but not any expansion of my business.

​

People from these groups did buy from me but thats just individuals. I would even bring in several products to show-and-tell while i did my 60 second commercial. That help me get recognized more in the groups.

​

I even presented my business as a guest in some of those groups. (I get so nervous to speak in front of a room full of people so this helped me become more confident). I got leads to local stores in my area and some a bit further out. And every single one was a disaster. Low sales at each and every single only of them. Either broke even or i was below the booth fee cost. I was in like 9 stores too. Some were month to month and 2 were 6 month contracts. Never doing those again.

​

But the only one that panned out was a connection i got from the airport. A girl in one of my networking groups owns a drive-in theater and she had a craft show in the morning before they start showing movies in the evening to night. And the fair was trash. Made almost nothing. I mean it did rain too. But who knows if that would have changed anything. Anyways, a lady who gets to decide what products goes into airport gift shop where i live just so happen to be there and she loved my products and thought the airport was a great fit for them. I had to send another person above her who makes the final say, several free products with me paying the shipping. 😥

​

But it did work out for the best because she approved like 4 different products wholesale and ordered 12 of each. Now i get a email to restock about every 3 months, sometimes 4 months. Sometimes 6 or 12 items from each product category. But this still isn't enough. And yes i am now aware of the abdce, an organization that helps specifically small business owners get their products into multiple airports. Its just taking me a while to finish the application. It's s like 17 pages, but you also need like 15 additional documents to include. So im still working on that. Hopefully, i can finally finish by the end of this week.

​

Yes i have a website. But i don't get consistent sales. Yes i know i gotta work on advertising and getting my results up on Google but that cost money. And i need more sales for that.

​

Yes i am on all social media platforms too. Even YouTube. No I'm not consistent. Yes i know i have to be for it to work. I am working on that as i type this. I even randomly got a sale from Australia and britian, and yes they paid the shipping that cost just as much as the product. This is how i know my products are good. I just need to get seen by the right people.

​

I've even walked into my nearest AAA and asked for an audience with the person who decides what is sold in AAA travel stores. And i got an over the phone interview and the guy seemed interested. I email him my contact info, my website some photos and I was ghosted. This happened a lot sadly.

​

Dry bags are my #1 most popular item so I connected with a guy from my networking group who owns a kayaking business. Actually he went out of his way to talk to me. We met, i brought samples to his office, we discussed prices and everything and once again i was ghosted. And yes i did follow up but only once because if i have to beg then that probably means they don't want me.

​

I was recommended to this lady who owns a dance/yoga and canoe business to sell my dry bags. She only sold the small solid colored ones. Mine have nice patterns and prints all over it. And she seemed interested. But again, ghosted once more.

​

This actually happened a lot when someone would introduce themselves to me becuase they saw me at a networking group and was intrigued. we would connect, they would get excited about doing business with me but then ghost me. Which is so weird because they approached me to do business.

​

Well, another one of the few times where I went out my way to approach a business, i went to several pet stores to sell my dog leashes, collars and bone shaped poop bags. And the employees were all impressed and each store didn't have exactly what i was selling. (People travel with their pets too you know) So perfect. But the boss was never at any of those stores. So the managers always took my card and said they would hype me up to their boss but nothing.

​

So thats my history of what ive been doing these past few years. My bad this was longer than i intended it to be. And as for my future, i don't know how to go to the next level. 99% of the things I tried, i failed st. Or it at the very least bought me minimal sales.

​

So i need help for legit things i can do that can turn this little handmade business into the next big conglomerate. I can't handmake stuff for the world. I would need to get into manufacturing at some point, but i need to make the sales to do that first.

​

So advice?

​

P.s. i know its not a quality issue. I literally get complimented all the time on my quality. Some have even complimented that my stuff looks factory made because my stitches are that perfect. 🙃

​

I am so freaking exhausted. 😩 i feel like i am going insane. I need to do something vastly different otherwise i think i have to start doing my business part time and at the very least do a part time job.

​

Nearly everything i have tried i have failed so i think i need to ask for anyone who actually have follow through advice or connections to help a girl out to succeed.

​

Ok, heres the skinny...

​

So i started my business on jan 1st 2023. So i am basically in the middle of year 4. Technically 3.5 years in at this point. For context so yall know what advice to give me, I handmake and sell outdoor and travel products accessories like dry bags, passport wallets, touchscreen phone crossbody wallets, lunch bags and more travel and activity themed items.

​

And i have done craft fairs to death. This year i have slowed down significantly. I am exclusively only doing the fairs i made over $1000 from over the last 3 years because i can't do another $0 sales day or $200, $400 sales day when the free was like $75 to get in. Or sometimes more. So basically no new craft fairs. I'm done testing the waters there.

​

I have gone to so many networking groups. So freaking many. The first 2 years of business, i think i was doing more networking than actually working on my business. I barely went to any year 3 and this year i been to 1 but only It because it was at a store where they owed my money from my month i sold there.

​

I was basically almost going every day, weekly, biweekly and monthly. I went to mixed groups (mostly), woman only groups and etc. And although, i did get some decent advice. i was also usually the youngest person in all of those groups or one of the youngest. So i figured I'm surrounded by so much wisdom. But in hindsight majority of their advice panned out to only a few sales but not any expansion of my business.

​

People from these groups did buy from me but thats just individuals. I would even bring in several products to show-and-tell while i did my 60 second commercial. That help me get recognized more in the groups.

​

I even presented my business as a guest in some of those groups. (I get so nervous to speak in front of a room full of people so this helped me become more confident). I got leads to local stores in my area and some a bit further out. And every single one was a disaster. Low sales at each and every single only of them. Either broke even or i was below the booth fee cost. I was in like 9 stores too. Some were month to month and 2 were 6 month contracts. Never doing those again.

​

But the only one that panned out was a connection i got from the airport. A girl in one of my networking groups owns a drive-in theater and she had a craft show in the morning before they start showing movies in the evening to night. And the fair was trash. Made almost nothing. I mean it did rain too. But who knows if that would have changed anything. Anyways, a lady who gets to decide what products goes into airport gift shop where i live just so happen to be there and she loved my products and thought the airport was a great fit for them. I had to send another person above her who makes the final say, several free products with me paying the shipping. 😥

​

But it did work out for the best because she approved like 4 different products wholesale and ordered 12 of each. Now i get a email to restock about every 3 months, sometimes 4 months. Sometimes 6 or 12 items from each product category. But this still isn't enough. And yes i am now aware of the abdce, an organization that helps specifically small business owners get their products into multiple airports. Its just taking me a while to finish the application. It's s like 17 pages, but you also need like 15 additional documents to include. So im still working on that. Hopefully, i can finally finish by the end of this week.

​

Yes i have a website. But i don't get consistent sales. Yes i know i gotta work on advertising and getting my results up on Google but that cost money. And i need more sales for that.

​

Yes i am on all social media platforms too. Even YouTube. No I'm not consistent. Yes i know i have to be for it to work. I am working on that as i type this. I even randomly got a sale from Australia and britian, and yes they paid the shipping that cost just as much as the product. This is how i know my products are good. I just need to get seen by the right people.

​

I've even walked into my nearest AAA and asked for an audience with the person who decides what is sold in AAA travel stores. And i got an over the phone interview and the guy seemed interested. I email him my contact info, my website some photos and I was ghosted. This happened a lot sadly.

​

Dry bags are my #1 most popular item so I connected with a guy from my networking group who owns a kayaking business. Actually he went out of his way to talk to me. We met, i brought samples to his office, we discussed prices and everything and once again i was ghosted. And yes i did follow up but only once because if i have to beg then that probably means they don't want me.

​

I was recommended to this lady who owns a dance/yoga and canoe business to sell my dry bags. She only sold the small solid colored ones. Mine have nice patterns and prints all over it. And she seemed interested. But again, ghosted once more.

​

This actually happened a lot when someone would introduce themselves to me becuase they saw me at a networking group and was intrigued. we would connect, they would get excited about doing business with me but then ghost me. Which is so weird because they approached me to do business.

​

Well, another one of the few times where I went out my way to approach a business, i went to several pet stores to sell my dog leashes, collars and bone shaped poop bags. And the employees were all impressed and each store didn't have exactly what i was selling. (People travel with their pets too you know) So perfect. But the boss was never at any of those stores. So the managers always took my card and said they would hype me up to their boss but nothing.

​

So thats my history of what ive been doing these past few years. My bad this was longer than i intended it to be. And as for my future, i don't know how to go to the next level. 99% of the things I tried, i failed st. Or it at the very least bought me minimal sales.

​

So i need help for legit things i can do that can turn this little handmade business into the next big conglomerate. I can't handmake stuff for the world. I would need to get into manufacturing at some point, but i need to make the sales to do that first.

​

So advice?

​

P.s. i know its not a quality issue. I literally get complimented all the time on my quality. Some have even complimented that my stuff looks factory made because my stitches are that perfect. 🙃

​

I am so freaking exhausted. 😩 i feel like i am going insane. I need to do something vastly different otherwise i think i have to start doing my business part time and at the very least do a part time job.

​

Nearly everything i have tried i have failed so i think i need to ask for anyone who actually have follow through advice or connections to help a girl out to succeed.

​

Ok, heres the skinny...

​

So i started my business on jan 1st 2023. So i am basically in the middle of year 4. Technically 3.5 years in at this point. For context so yall know what advice to give me, I handmake and sell outdoor and travel products accessories like dry bags, passport wallets, touchscreen phone crossbody wallets, lunch bags and more travel and activity themed items.

​

And i have done craft fairs to death. This year i have slowed down significantly. I am exclusively only doing the fairs i made over $1000 from over the last 3 years because i can't do another $0 sales day or $200, $400 sales day when the free was like $75 to get in. Or sometimes more. So basically no new craft fairs. I'm done testing the waters there.

​

I have gone to so many networking groups. So freaking many. The first 2 years of business, i think i was doing more networking than actually working on my business. I barely went to any year 3 and this year i been to 1 but only It because it was at a store where they owed my money from my month i sold there.

​

I was basically almost going every day, weekly, biweekly and monthly. I went to mixed groups (mostly), woman only groups and etc. And although, i did get some decent advice. i was also usually the youngest person in all of those groups or one of the youngest. So i figured I'm surrounded by so much wisdom. But in hindsight majority of their advice panned out to only a few sales but not any expansion of my business.

​

People from these groups did buy from me but thats just individuals. I would even bring in several products to show-and-tell while i did my 60 second commercial. That help me get recognized more in the groups.

​

I even presented my business as a guest in some of those groups. (I get so nervous to speak in front of a room full of people so this helped me become more confident). I got leads to local stores in my area and some a bit further out. And every single one was a disaster. Low sales at each and every single only of them. Either broke even or i was below the booth fee cost. I was in like 9 stores too. Some were month to month and 2 were 6 month contracts. Never doing those again.

​

But the only one that panned out was a connection i got from the airport. A girl in one of my networking groups owns a drive-in theater and she had a craft show in the morning before they start showing movies in the evening to night. And the fair was trash. Made almost nothing. I mean it did rain too. But who knows if that would have changed anything. Anyways, a lady who gets to decide what products goes into airport gift shop where i live just so happen to be there and she loved my products and thought the airport was a great fit for them. I had to send another person above her who makes the final say, several free products with me paying the shipping. 😥

​

But it did work out for the best because she approved like 4 different products wholesale and ordered 12 of each. Now i get a email to restock about every 3 months, sometimes 4 months. Sometimes 6 or 12 items from each product category. But this still isn't enough. And yes i am now aware of the abdce, an organization that helps specifically small business owners get their products into multiple airports. Its just taking me a while to finish the application. It's s like 17 pages, but you also need like 15 additional documents to include. So im still working on that. Hopefully, i can finally finish by the end of this week.

​

Yes i have a website. But i don't get consistent sales. Yes i know i gotta work on advertising and getting my results up on Google but that cost money. And i need more sales for that.

​

Yes i am on all social media platforms too. Even YouTube. No I'm not consistent. Yes i know i have to be for it to work. I am working on that as i type this. I even randomly got a sale from Australia and britian, and yes they paid the shipping that cost just as much as the product. This is how i know my products are good. I just need to get seen by the right people.

​

I've even walked into my nearest AAA and asked for an audience with the person who decides what is sold in AAA travel stores. And i got an over the phone interview and the guy seemed interested. I email him my contact info, my website some photos and I was ghosted. This happened a lot sadly.

​

Dry bags are my #1 most popular item so I connected with a guy from my networking group who owns a kayaking business. Actually he went out of his way to talk to me. We met, i brought samples to his office, we discussed prices and everything and once again i was ghosted. And yes i did follow up but only once because if i have to beg then that probably means they don't want me.

​

I was recommended to this lady who owns a dance/yoga and canoe business to sell my dry bags. She only sold the small solid colored ones. Mine have nice patterns and prints all over it. And she seemed interested. But again, ghosted once more.

​

This actually happened a lot when someone would introduce themselves to me becuase they saw me at a networking group and was intrigued. we would connect, they would get excited about doing business with me but then ghost me. Which is so weird because they approached me to do business.

​

Well, another one of the few times where I went out my way to approach a business, i went to several pet stores to sell my dog leashes, collars and bone shaped poop bags. And the employees were all impressed and each store didn't have exactly what i was selling. (People travel with their pets too you know) So perfect. But the boss was never at any of those stores. So the managers always took my card and said they would hype me up to their boss but nothing.

​

So thats my history of what ive been doing these past few years. My bad this was longer than i intended it to be. And as for my future, i don't know how to go to the next level. 99% of the things I tried, i failed st. Or it at the very least bought me minimal sales.

​

So i need help for legit things i can do that can turn this little handmade business into the next big conglomerate. I can't handmake stuff for the world. I would need to get into manufacturing at some point, but i need to make the sales to do that first.

​

So advice?

​

P.s. i know its not a quality issue. I literally get complimented all the time on my quality. Some have even complimented that my stuff looks factory made because my stitches are that perfect. 🙃

​

Hey, so i really need a craft fair for the weekend of Juneteenth/fathers day and the following weekend too that has a really high turn out. since starting my business i've only found one craft fair that was no only reasonably priced and had a high sales ratio in june. and that is the bluegrass music festival in wind gap. over $1000 every time i go. but i kind of had a surprise bill this month and wanna do another craft fair to cover that. so does have any suggestions. preferably ones if you made over $500 in sales.

A little back story first.

One of my male mc's who is a morally bankrupt thieft but not entirely a bad person archetype. He's not a robin hood type either. so he'll rob a poor person too and screw them over as well, if he's desperate enough. but he doesn't go out of his way cuz obviously they won't have much to steal to begin with. So its mostly the wealthy by default. But he'll scam anyone to help himself if he really needs something. .

He's also a human shapeshifter called a biomorph in my world. And in my universe they are often stereotyped to be distrustful, thieves, scammers, troublemakers, violent and etc. They also were blamed for starting the last great war that happened centuries prior, that left millons dead from all kingdoms. It was presumed biomorphs were pretending to be world leaders to start the war for their own selfish reasons and thats where the stereotype and hate came from over time.

So this character often prefers to pretend to be anyone else besides himself and has this deep seated distrust of others and has no problem treating others badly cuz he assumes they are going to treat him badly first so he does it to them because they can dobit to him. He also secretly deep down inside wants someone to love him and like him for him. This is his greatest insecurity that he won't even admit to himself. All of the adults imfeom him childhood betrayed or mistreated him at some point so this is where his insecurity also stems from.

His parents were garbage people that sold him for money through an illegal adoption. And his adoptive parents "bought" aka adopted him becuase they wanted to have a biomorph kid they could use for scams. Eventually he was taken from the adoptive parents as they got caught after a few years of running scams.

He then was on the streets after running away from an abusive orphanage. He got unofficially "adopted" into a gang, and became close to one particular gang member who was the one who saved him from getting his hand chopped off when he was caught stealing from the gang as a homeless child.

And yes throughout all of the books he learns to be a better person and blah blah blah. And he meets the main cast of characters and slowly starts to trust them while occasionally still betraying them and blah blah blah. Yall know the trope. (The john murphy from "the 100" type)

Anyways, so i have this arc in my story, (Not fully written but it has been outlined extensively so i know where i am going with it) where this damaged character (Tiago) was taken under the wing of the gang member (Kaizen) who got him into the gang around 8 years old. They became very close over the years. Even doing some father/son type stuff without realizing it. Kaizen protected him from some of the other gang members who weren't very perceptive to having Tiago around. But since Kaizen is the righthand to the head boss he has some sway in the group. So the others know not to touch him. (Or at least not rough Tiago up to badly)

So around 17 years old, Tiago and Kaizen decided to leave the gang. Kaizen started to want more for Tiago. But at the last minute Kaizen chickened out and didn't leave with Tiago who stole a bunch of money from the gang which was apart of their plan upon leaving. And he left Tiago out to dry. And now at 20 years old, the gang is still hunting him down. but could never nab him.

Kaizen is apart of the gangs enemy retrieval unit do he's in charge of the team thats hunting Tiago down dead or alive and to retrieve the money he stole and to dish out punishment for leaving. Basically, since Kaizen didn't leave with him, he pretended to not know anything about Tiagos plans to escape to keep himself alive and punished by the boss and instead now hunts him down.

(Side note: Kaizen is a shapeshifting humanoid creature called Arodile (arrow-dial). thats similar to hawkman/hawkwomen from dc. But their wings and powerset is based on the vulture and an albatross. A creature i made up that can spit stomach acid thats burns flesh. Plus some other cool powers)

Anyways, my actual question is with what little info i gave you about Tiagos history and the instability with his bio family, his insecurity to want to be love, and ultimately his final betrayal from Kaizen who talked about leaving the gang with him but ended up ditching him, i wanted to know if towards the big climax i have planed throughout my series, if it would be weird if its believable if Kaizen (once he goes through that whole arc of being loyal to the gang no matter what and trying to capture/kill Tiago but ultimately betraying the gang to save Tiago and realizing that he does love him like a son) would vocally refer to Tiago as his son and if it was weird if Tiago would actually call him his father?

I'm not sure if men would find this too sappy or not. I also have this scene written out that when he was about 13 or so, Tiago accidentally referred to Kaizen as his father in a conversation where they were having a really great day together, but they both awkwardly never talked about it and pretended it never happened. And at some point when they were still in the gang, Kaizen almost called Tiago his son in front of him, but stopped himself in time.

I have it written that Kaizen was also regularly was teased by the other gang members that Tiago gets special treatment because he's "Kaizens boy". Kinda like saying that his kid.

So at the super emotional climax where Kaizen finally actually leaves the gang betraying them by not killing Tiago or turning him in and they are both finally on the same side, Tiago has forgiven Kaizen for abandoning him, would he be fitting for them to refer to each other vocally as father and son. Or am i thinking like a girl and they should just call each other by their first names insteads. Is this too sappy?

I even have this running joke throughout my book where the other main characters refer to Kaizen as Tiagos dad thats trying to kill him and he regular shouts he's not his dad. Lol.

So what do yall think fellas? Could you call a man who wasn't technically your stepfather even though he practically raised you? Or could you call a kid your son, whom you technically weren't legally responsible for but treated him like he was yours his whole life basically?

Let me know fellas. I know male relationships between men are different from female relationships between woman.

Question for the men about non biological father figures in a fantasy setting

A little back story first.

One of my male mc's who is a morally bankrupt thief but not entirely a bad person archetype. He's not a robin hood type either. so he'll rob a poor person too and screw them over as well, if he's desperate enough. but he doesn't go out of his way cuz obviously they won't have much to steal to begin with. So its mostly the wealthy by default. But he'll scam anyone to help himself if he really needs something. .

He's also a human shapeshifter called a biomorph in my world. And in my universe they are often stereotyped to be distrustful, thieves, scammers, troublemakers, violent and etc. They also were blamed for starting the last great war that happened centuries prior, that left millions dead from all kingdoms. It was presumed biomorphs were pretending to be world leaders to start the war for their own selfish reasons and thats where the stereotype and hate came from over time.

So this character often prefers to pretend to be anyone else besides himself and has this deep seated distrust of others and has no problem treating others badly cuz he assumes they are going to treat him badly first so he does it to them because they can do it to him. He also secretly deep down inside wants someone to love him and like him for him. This is his greatest insecurity that he won't even admit to himself. All of the adults from his childhood betrayed or mistreated him at some point so this is where his insecurity also stems from.

His parents were garbage people that sold him for money through an illegal adoption. And his adoptive parents "bought" aka adopted him because they wanted to have a biomorph kid they could use for scams. Eventually he was taken from the adoptive parents as they got caught after a few years of running scams.

He then was on the streets after running away from an abusive orphanage. He got unofficially "adopted" into a gang, and became close to one particular gang member who was the one who saved him from getting his hand chopped off when he was caught stealing from the gang as a homeless child.

And yes throughout all of the books he learns to be a better person and blah blah blah. And he meets the main cast of characters and slowly starts to trust them while occasionally still betraying them and blah blah blah. Y'all know the trope. (The john murphy from "the 100" type)

Anyways, so i have this arc in my story, (Not fully written but it has been outlined extensively so i know where i am going with it) where this damaged character (Tiago) was taken under the wing of the gang member (Kaizen) who got him into the gang around 8 years old. They became very close over the years. Even doing some father/son type stuff without realizing it. Kaizen protected him from some of the other gang members who weren't very perceptive to having Tiago around. But since Kaizen is the righthand to the head boss he has some sway in the group. So the others know not to touch him. (Or at least not rough Tiago up to badly)

So around 17 years old, Tiago and Kaizen decided to leave the gang. Kaizen started to want more for Tiago. But at the last minute Kaizen chickened out and didn't leave with Tiago who stole a bunch of money from the gang which was apart of their plan upon leaving. And he left Tiago out to dry. And now at 20 years old, the gang is still hunting him down. but could never nab him.

Kaizen is apart of the gangs enemy retrieval unit do he's in charge of the team thats hunting Tiago down dead or alive and to retrieve the money he stole and to dish out punishment for leaving. Basically, since Kaizen didn't leave with him, he pretended to not know anything about Tiago's plans to escape to keep himself alive and punished by the boss and instead now hunts him down.

(Side note: Kaizen is a shapeshifting humanoid creature called Arodile (arrow-dial). thats similar to hawkman/hawkwomen from dc. But their wings and power-set is based on the vulture and an albatross. A creature i made up that can spit stomach acid thats burns flesh. Plus some other cool powers)

Anyways, my actual question is with what little info i gave you about Tiago's history and the instability with his bio family, his insecurity to want to be love, and ultimately his final betrayal from Kaizen who talked about leaving the gang with him but ended up ditching him, i wanted to know if towards the big climax i have planed throughout my series, if it would be weird if its believable if Kaizen (once he goes through that whole arc of being loyal to the gang no matter what and trying to capture/kill Tiago but ultimately betraying the gang to save Tiago and realizing that he does love him like a son) would vocally refer to Tiago as his son and if it was weird if Tiago would actually call him his father?

I'm not sure if men would find this too sappy or not. I also have this scene written out that when he was about 13 or so, Tiago accidentally referred to Kaizen as his father in a conversation where they were having a really great day together, but they both awkwardly never talked about it and pretended it never happened. And at some point when they were still in the gang, Kaizen almost called Tiago his son in front of him, but stopped himself in time.

I have it written that Kaizen was also regularly was teased by the other gang members that Tiago gets special treatment because he's "Kaizen's boy". Kinda like saying that his kid.

So at the super emotional climax where Kaizen finally actually leaves the gang betraying them by not killing Tiago or turning him in and they are both finally on the same side, Tiago has forgiven Kaizen for abandoning him, would he be fitting for them to refer to each other vocally as father and son. Or am i thinking like a girl and they should just call each other by their first names instead. Is this too sappy?

I even have this running joke throughout my book where the other main characters refer to Kaizen as Tiago's dad thats trying to kill him and he regular shouts he's not his dad. Lol.

So what do y'all think fellas? Could you call a man who wasn't technically your stepfather even though he practically raised you? Or could you call a kid your son, whom you technically weren't legally responsible for but treated him like he was yours his whole life basically?

Let me know fellas. I know male relationships between men are different from female relationships between woman.

A little back story first.

One of my male mc's who is a morally bankrupt thieft but not entirely a bad person archetype. He's not a robin hood type either. so he'll rob a poor person too and screw them over as well, if he's desperate enough. but he doesn't go out of his way cuz obviously they won't have much to steal to begin with. So its mostly the wealthy by default. But he'll scam anyone to help himself if he really needs something. .

He's also a human shapeshifter called a biomorph in my world. And in my universe they are often stereotyped to be distrustful, thieves, scammers, troublemakers, violent and etc. They also were blamed for starting the last great war that happened centuries prior, that left millons dead from all kingdoms. It was presumed biomorphs were pretending to be world leaders to start the war for their own selfish reasons and thats where the stereotype and hate came from over time.

So this character often prefers to pretend to be anyone else besides himself and has this deep seated distrust of others and has no problem treating others badly cuz he assumes they are going to treat him badly first so he does it to them because they can dobit to him. He also secretly deep down inside wants someone to love him and like him for him. This is his greatest insecurity that he won't even admit to himself. All of the adults imfeom him childhood betrayed or mistreated him at some point so this is where his insecurity also stems from.

His parents were garbage people that sold him for money through an illegal adoption. And his adoptive parents "bought" aka adopted him becuase they wanted to have a biomorph kid they could use for scams. Eventually he was taken from the adoptive parents as they got caught after a few years of running scams.

He then was on the streets after running away from an abusive orphanage. He got unofficially "adopted" into a gang, and became close to one particular gang member who was the one who saved him from getting his hand chopped off when he was caught stealing from the gang as a homeless child.

And yes throughout all of the books he learns to be a better person and blah blah blah. And he meets the main cast of characters and slowly starts to trust them while occasionally still betraying them and blah blah blah. Yall know the trope. (The john murphy from "the 100" type)

Anyways, so i have this arc in my story, (Not fully written but it has been outlined extensively so i know where i am going with it) where this damaged character (Tiago) was taken under the wing of the gang member (Kaizen) who got him into the gang around 8 years old. They became very close over the years. Even doing some father/son type stuff without realizing it. Kaizen protected him from some of the other gang members who weren't very perceptive to having Tiago around. But since Kaizen is the righthand to the head boss he has some sway in the group. So the others know not to touch him. (Or at least not rough Tiago up to badly)

So around 17 years old, Tiago and Kaizen decided to leave the gang. Kaizen started to want more for Tiago. But at the last minute Kaizen chickened out and didn't leave with Tiago who stole a bunch of money from the gang which was apart of their plan upon leaving. And he left Tiago out to dry. And now at 20 years old, the gang is still hunting him down. but could never nab him.

Kaizen is apart of the gangs enemy retrieval unit do he's in charge of the team thats hunting Tiago down dead or alive and to retrieve the money he stole and to dish out punishment for leaving. Basically, since Kaizen didn't leave with him, he pretended to not know anything about Tiagos plans to escape to keep himself alive and punished by the boss and instead now hunts him down.

(Side note: Kaizen is a shapeshifting humanoid creature called Arodile (arrow-dial). thats similar to hawkman/hawkwomen from dc. But their wings and powerset is based on the vulture and an albatross. A creature i made up that can spit stomach acid thats burns flesh. Plus some other cool powers)

Anyways, my actual question is with what little info i gave you about Tiagos history and the instability with his bio family, his insecurity to want to be love, and ultimately his final betrayal from Kaizen who talked about leaving the gang with him but ended up ditching him, i wanted to know if towards the big climax i have planed throughout my series, if it would be weird if its believable if Kaizen (once he goes through that whole arc of being loyal to the gang no matter what and trying to capture/kill Tiago but ultimately betraying the gang to save Tiago and realizing that he does love him like a son) would vocally refer to Tiago as his son and if it was weird if Tiago would actually call him his father?

I'm not sure if men would find this too sappy or not. I also have this scene written out that when he was about 13 or so, Tiago accidentally referred to Kaizen as his father in a conversation where they were having a really great day together, but they both awkwardly never talked about it and pretended it never happened. And at some point when they were still in the gang, Kaizen almost called Tiago his son in front of him, but stopped himself in time.

I have it written that Kaizen was also regularly was teased by the other gang members that Tiago gets special treatment because he's "Kaizens boy". Kinda like saying that his kid.

So at the super emotional climax where Kaizen finally actually leaves the gang betraying them by not killing Tiago or turning him in and they are both finally on the same side, Tiago has forgiven Kaizen for abandoning him, would he be fitting for them to refer to each other vocally as father and son. Or am i thinking like a girl and they should just call each other by their first names insteads. Is this too sappy?

I even have this running joke throughout my book where the other main characters refer to Kaizen as Tiagos dad thats trying to kill him and he regular shouts he's not his dad. Lol.

So what do yall think fellas? Could you call a man who wasn't technically your stepfather even though he practically raised you? Or could you call a kid your son, whom you technically weren't legally responsible for but treated him like he was yours his whole life basically?

Let me know fellas. I know male relationships between men are different from female relationships between woman.

A little back story first.

One of my male mc's who is a morally bankrupt thieft but not entirely a bad person archetype. He's not a robin hood type either. so he'll rob a poor person too and screw them over as well, if he's desperate enough. but he doesn't go out of his way cuz obviously they won't have much to steal to begin with. So its mostly the wealthy by default. But he'll scam anyone to help himself if he really needs something. .

He's also a human shapeshifter called a biomorph in my world. And in my universe they are often stereotyped to be distrustful, thieves, scammers, troublemakers, violent and etc. They also were blamed for starting the last great war that happened centuries prior, that left millons dead from all kingdoms. It was presumed biomorphs were pretending to be world leaders to start the war for their own selfish reasons and thats where the stereotype and hate came from over time.

So this character often prefers to pretend to be anyone else besides himself and has this deep seated distrust of others and has no problem treating others badly cuz he assumes they are going to treat him badly first so he does it to them because they can dobit to him. He also secretly deep down inside wants someone to love him and like him for him. This is his greatest insecurity that he won't even admit to himself. All of the adults imfeom him childhood betrayed or mistreated him at some point so this is where his insecurity also stems from.

His parents were garbage people that sold him for money through an illegal adoption. And his adoptive parents "bought" aka adopted him becuase they wanted to have a biomorph kid they could use for scams. Eventually he was taken from the adoptive parents as they got caught after a few years of running scams.

He then was on the streets after running away from an abusive orphanage. He got unofficially "adopted" into a gang, and became close to one particular gang member who was the one who saved him from getting his hand chopped off when he was caught stealing from the gang as a homeless child.

And yes throughout all of the books he learns to be a better person and blah blah blah. And he meets the main cast of characters and slowly starts to trust them while occasionally still betraying them and blah blah blah. Yall know the trope. (The john murphy from "the 100" type)

Anyways, so i have this arc in my story, (Not fully written but it has been outlined extensively so i know where i am going with it) where this damaged character (Tiago) was taken under the wing of the gang member (Kaizen) who got him into the gang around 8 years old. They became very close over the years. Even doing some father/son type stuff without realizing it. Kaizen protected him from some of the other gang members who weren't very perceptive to having Tiago around. But since Kaizen is the righthand to the head boss he has some sway in the group. So the others know not to touch him. (Or at least not rough Tiago up to badly)

So around 17 years old, Tiago and Kaizen decided to leave the gang. Kaizen started to want more for Tiago. But at the last minute Kaizen chickened out and didn't leave with Tiago who stole a bunch of money from the gang which was apart of their plan upon leaving. And he left Tiago out to dry. And now at 20 years old, the gang is still hunting him down. but could never nab him.

Kaizen is apart of the gangs enemy retrieval unit do he's in charge of the team thats hunting Tiago down dead or alive and to retrieve the money he stole and to dish out punishment for leaving. Basically, since Kaizen didn't leave with him, he pretended to not know anything about Tiagos plans to escape to keep himself alive and punished by the boss and instead now hunts him down.

(Side note: Kaizen is a shapeshifting humanoid creature called Arodile (arrow-dial). thats similar to hawkman/hawkwomen from dc. But their wings and powerset is based on the vulture and an albatross. A creature i made up that can spit stomach acid thats burns flesh. Plus some other cool powers)

Anyways, my actual question is with what little info i gave you about Tiagos history and the instability with his bio family, his insecurity to want to be love, and ultimately his final betrayal from Kaizen who talked about leaving the gang with him but ended up ditching him, i wanted to know if towards the big climax i have planed throughout my series, if it would be weird if its believable if Kaizen (once he goes through that whole arc of being loyal to the gang no matter what and trying to capture/kill Tiago but ultimately betraying the gang to save Tiago and realizing that he does love him like a son) would vocally refer to Tiago as his son and if it was weird if Tiago would actually call him his father?

I'm not sure if men would find this too sappy or not. I also have this scene written out that when he was about 13 or so, Tiago accidentally referred to Kaizen as his father in a conversation where they were having a really great day together, but they both awkwardly never talked about it and pretended it never happened. And at some point when they were still in the gang, Kaizen almost called Tiago his son in front of him, but stopped himself in time.

I have it written that Kaizen was also regularly was teased by the other gang members that Tiago gets special treatment because he's "Kaizens boy". Kinda like saying that his kid.

So at the super emotional climax where Kaizen finally actually leaves the gang betraying them by not killing Tiago or turning him in and they are both finally on the same side, Tiago has forgiven Kaizen for abandoning him, would he be fitting for them to refer to each other vocally as father and son. Or am i thinking like a girl and they should just call each other by their first names insteads. Is this too sappy?

I even have this running joke throughout my book where the other main characters refer to Kaizen as Tiagos dad thats trying to kill him and he regular shouts he's not his dad. Lol.

So what do yall think fellas? Could you call a man who wasn't technically your stepfather even though he practically raised you? Or could you call a kid your son, whom you technically weren't legally responsible for but treated him like he was yours his whole life basically?

Let me know fellas. I know male relationships between men are different from female relationships between woman.