#(( :D! ))

[hiccuppop]

A SILLY SNAKE!!!

I thought @kitakami-kid gorgon kiki idea was super cute!!!! so i decided to draw it :))) (btw i hope you like it srry if i got some colors wrong lmao)

[every-kakashi]

[jame7t]

jame7t i was watching your new pig stream and had to leave to go obtain delicious chicken nuggets but i must say you all are a delight and i am happy for your hog adventure

:D!!! Thank you!! I hope your dinner wasn’t poisoned !!!

[transgender-chiroptera]

Lesser Long-eared bat, via

[cursed-kg]

is it over

[barry-j-blupjeans]

Before Lucretia has even truly stepped foot into the room, she knows this is it. Wave Echo Cave is large, hidden mostly underground. The long, confusing tunnels and the plethora of traps deter her every move closer to the vault that lies at the center. This is exactly the sort of place Lup would have hidden the Pheonix Fire Gauntlet and this is exactly the sort of place that Lucretia intended to recover it.

Once Lucretia did step foot in the room, though? It was— this was definitely it.

Lucretia had been down a long road since the Bureau began losing Reclaimers. Hell, she'd been down a long road since before the Bureau had even been a thing. But more than other things in this nearly decade of hell she created for herself, the repeated loss of Reclaimer after Reclaimer made her hurt more than expected. She had enacted her plan to stop the countless deaths caused by these Relics and then here she was, adding to them in the name of justice only she could see.

She had to recruit the boys, somehow. It would make sense. But Lucretia couldn't stomach that kind of responsibility yet. If she lost them, too, to the thrall of the Relics they don't even remember making…? And with all they've been through. Merle… Taako…? Not to mention all the emotional turmoil Magnus had gone through this time. She couldn't do that. Not yet.

But it still left her Reclaimerless. And so, with a stiff upper lip and a hardy resolve, Lucretia decided that she would be the one on this Relic expedition. There had been objects, of course, and she couldn't deny the overwhelming amount of anxiety at the thought of dying and leaving her work unfinished. But what other choice was there? Lucretia promised that it would be over soon. It had to be over soon. She hadn't managed to wiggle her way into going alone, so Killian was accompanying her. After the puzzles Wave Echo Cave had thrown at them, she was glad Killian had chosen to come.

There was a large metal door on the far side of the room, which Lucretia knew she could get through with no problem. The room was otherwise deserted, except for the skeletal figure lying against the wall, staring at the metal door.

"Hey, uh, what's with the hold-up?" Killian asked when Lucretia stopped dead in her tracks. "Did we fin— oh, shit."

The skeleton had a hand curled around itself like it— like she had been injured. There wasn't any blood on the ground— there might have been once, maybe, but not anymore. It had been too long. The skeleton wore a cloak. A red cloak. And had a familiar weapon held up against her, only visible by the curved tip of the intricately carved handle.

"Is that—" Killian stepped to her side, squinting at the figure. She lowered her voice. "Is that, like, an actual Red Robe?"

Lup.

Lucretia had found her. And— and judging by the state of her, Lucretia had been the first to find her in a very, very long time. She still remembered the melancholy morning when she woke up to see the note left on the counter. Barry had found it first, having gotten up a while after Lup left due to the restless sleep they both shared. Davenport had woken up before her, then Taako, Magnus, Merle…

Probably went to go clear her head, Barry had said, in the way Lucretia knew he didn't fully believe his own words. She'll be back by tonight.

And then tonight had turned into tomorrow with no sign of Lup. Noon the next day sent Barry and Taako out on their first recon mission, but no one around them had seen her. After that, the days blended together. Taako and Barry were gone more often than not, Magnus listlessly paced the deck and Lucretia tried to ignore how he perked up every time the door the the ship opened, only to see it was Barry and Taako again, empty-handed. Davenport's restlessness grew, Merle's concerned attempts of reassurance fell flat.

Lucretia did what she had to do. And she wasn't proud of it. But now was her chance to make up for the years of heartache she had caused.

"Killian," Lucretia said, stepping further into the room. The Bulwark Staff made contact with the stone floor and the sound echoed. "Contact Base— tell them we've been able to find a Relic— the Gauntlet, presumably— and have someone ready a transfer sphere in the hanger for when we return."

"But—"

"Now, Killian," Lucretia said, kneeling next to Lup.

"What do I say about uhm," Killian paused, glancing between the Red Robe and Lucretia. Then, briefly, at the metal door. "The whole…" she waved a hand in the direction of Lup's skeleton. "Situation here."

"Nothing," Lucretia said. "This— she's long dead." Lucretia wanted to reach out and touch her, to ask her questions— though, it's not like Lup's soul was here anymore. This confirmed she was in lich form but where— where in lich form? Even has distant as she has made herself from Barry, he wouldn't hide finding Lup from her. Or, Lup finding him. But maybe he would…? Lucretia has been unimaginably hostile towards Barry's involvement in this. Would he keep this from her? Would Lup want him to?

Should she keep this from him?

"Gotcha," Killian said. "Okay, okay, so mention that we found— are about to find?— the Gauntlet, ask for transfer sphere, come back."

"Correct," Lucretia said. She surveyed the space around Lup, looking for a sign of what would have done her in— ah, and there was the blood. She had been injured— stabbed?— in the back. You needed Rockseeker blood to get in, Lucretia knew, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve to figure that out without having to interact with one of them. But if Lup hadn't? If she had had the Gauntlet with her when she sought out a guide through the cave, Lucretia would bet bottom dollar that the thrall had been too strong to resist.

Killian stepped out of the room once more, searching for a better signal. Lucretia tilted her head back, closing her eyes. Her throat felt too tight. She let out a sigh when she looked back down at Lup's form.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking the handle of the Umrbastaff and pulling it toward her. The skeleton shuddered for a second before collapsing into dust. The umbrastaff was still buzzing with magic as Lucretia held it up to inspect it. Lup wouldn't have left this here without reason. She must have been planning on coming back for it. Or, she had been waiting to see when someone would take it? If she was out there, and with Barry, somehow, or even by herself, there had to be some kind of plan involving leaving the umbrastaff here.

She lowered the umbrastaff, thinking. If Lup had a plan, she could only hope it was not to disrupt her own. Giving her back the umbrastaff would be a risk too great to take, though Lucretia didn't know if she could keep herself in that stance if she ever came face to face with Lup once more. Or, well, face-to-hood, with the whole Lich Thing. It was best if she kept it, only for a little while.

"It'll be over soon," she whispered. She tucked the umbrastaff under her arm, standing as Killian came back into the room.

Right now, she had to focus on retrieving the Gauntlet. She didn't know what kind of horrors lay beyond that door— if something from in there had killed Lup, or if Lup had set some kind of trap over the Gauntlet before dying. It required her full attention.

Once they were back at Base, she could focus on her next course of action. For right now, she was ready to face the last parting gift Lup had left.

[68spidey]

Hello!

I hope your having a great day

I have a gift for you

A pink flower crown

Hope you like it

HOHOH thank you!! I think it suits me indeed

[dj-yaniel]

Todays my BIRTHDAY!

[inkspottie]

YESSS MORE ANZU!!! NEW CHAPTER WAS SO GOOD :D very happy that we got some anzu pov in this one, and i loved the anzu and sadao interactions. Also the ferrylady YIPPEEEE. I always appreciate the creativity in ur writing!!

I’m so glad! And thanks! I had a lot of fun with it, took me a while to get focused on it but ye!!!

I wanna make sure everyone gets a good amount of interaction/one on one stuff

[regal-bones]

Hi there, totally random message out of the blue from a long time follower and enjoyer of your art! One of my good friends is a small variety streamer who was looking for space-themed games to play for a space-themed August, and I recommended Pride Fighters...and he is actually going to play it this Friday (August 16th) at 8pm Eastern US time. He's a fellow LGBT creator, so I figured his small crowd would enjoy the game as much as I had while also being entertained by the frustration (it's tough!!) his twitch is ttv dronesneed or https://www.twitch.tv/dronesneed if you want to take a look at some recent vods or just show up when he does the stream. I figured your blog/followers and fellow creators might get a kick out of seeing someone play it, so feel free to let them know if you want to! either way, love the art, keep making it and best of luck with the game in development it looks super cute! Cheers, Jaz Fireforge

hey thats so dope! and if im not wrong, should be in like 2 hours - wanted to hold off answering until closer to the time!

thats sounds super cool, itll be late for me but ill try and stick my head in ! and yeah its tricky hehe, one day we'll get that 2.0 update finished to help balance stuff out ;p !

super cool message, thank you for letting me know :D i hope they enjoy it!

[every-kakashi]

[jame7t]

Hiya Jame! Been tuning into some of the streams recently ((well, the VODs, but still)) and I really like your voice! Love listening to the banter, big fan of the vibes ^^

Aw!! Thank you so much!! :3 I never liked my voice that much but twitch has made me appreciate it way more in the past few years. !smile

[swingstep]

cozy-ified! dailymitsuri: day 15!

[moonstonemoonlight]

Revenge on @pitchou8910!! Prudence the snake :D

[0w0whatisthis]

Happy Year of the Dragon!!!!

i guess im just doing these yearly now. yayyyyy i <3 red and gold colour palettes

(chinese new year is feburary 10th in 2024)