#Augh I’ve gotta get better at this

[coconut530]

Bump in the Night & Sleeptober Day 10: Open Graves & Ascend

[hotdogmchiggin]

I have like 7 different drawings in progress that I wanna post eventually but I cant get myself to finish any of them 😔

[lunar-lumi]

well. i’m feeling emotions

about to play the final level and this game’s already destroyed me.

oh fuck its gonna be hard to recover from this, isn’t it

[25centsoda]

DinLuke Fic in honor of AO3 Down

Chapter 1 of my five-chapter wip (currently getting my ass kicked by chapter 3) to feed the starving masses on this terrible day of AO3 Down. Fic and summary subject to change by the time I finish, edit, and finally post it. Fair warning this chap is 9 pages on my google doc.

Summary: After rescuing Grogu, Din retired to a quiet life as a lighthouse keeper with his son. Unfortunately, his life is determined to be anything but quiet.

Tags: Mermaid au, DinLuke, Din Djarin, Grogu, Luke Skywalker, Cara Dune, Moff Gideon, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Little Mermaid-ish, fantasy au, modern au, AAC, autistic Grogu, nonspeaking Grogu, Din was a hitman

EDIT: AUGH apparently AO3 came back up while I was posting. Was supposed to be down for 3 more hours...smh. Anyways, enjoy ig!

There was a merman lying on the rocky beach, above the tidal line, not twenty feet away.

Din rubbed his eyes. Blinked. The merman was still there.

He turned around.

Turned back.

Still there.

His gaze drifted up to the clouds as he thought, mind churning like stormy waves. Had he had breakfast that morning? Or water? Dehydration did things to the brain, right? Maybe the kid had kept him up too late and he was dreaming…

A rock landed very near his foot. He looked down.

The merman was waving to him. Propped up on one pale arm, with blue…gills? Fins? Waving merrily just behind his ears. There were more fins along the back of each arm. He was smiling and mouthing something, but no sound was coming out.

Din better not be hallucinating.

He picked his way across the rocks and stopped in front of the…fish. Man. Gods above, there were scales on this man’s bare stomach, and just below his belly button the skin faded entirely into blue scales, and his lower half was…

The merman flapped his tail, silently laughing. It slapped the ground with a wet sound.

Din could only stare.

The merman waved his hand, bringing Din’s attention back to his face, which was unfairly beautiful, a fact that Din elected to ignore. He began signing animatedly and mouthing something, but it wasn’t any sign language Din knew, and he’d never been great at reading lips.

Din shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”

The merman stopped signing with a huff. He bit his lip, looking around. There wasn’t much to see. This beach was isolated—that’s why Din had chosen it. There was nothing around except for chunks of pale rocks in varying sizes, the water, and, distantly, grassy dunes. And the lighthouse Din was paid to keep.

“Hold on,” Din said. He got several steps away before another thrown rock reminded him to say, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get something that will help.”

It was a long walk back to the lighthouse, but it was a walk he made every other day, to ensure that nothing weird or dangerous had washed up. And it was a good thing, too, because evidently something had washed up. Or…someone? Din wasn’t really sure how to refer to a literal merman. He still wasn’t convinced that he hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing.

Grogu was waiting at the door for him, one little hand holding the doorframe as he leaned out of it, waving his device. “Ba!” he shouted. His black hair fell into his face—Din needed to cut it soon—as he looked down to make selections. As Din neared, the device read out, “Dad where go? Why back soon?”

Din tousled his son’s hair. “Just came back to grab something real quick, buddy. I’ve gotta go out again.”

Grogu tilted his head in question.

Din passed him, entering the kitchen. “I don’t know what I’ve found. Somebody that needs help, I think.”

.

.

.

Din made his way back to the beach. The merman was still there. Din wished he had thought to grab himself a bottle of water, or a snack or something, but the fact that the man was still there boded well for Din’s mental faculties, if not for the logic of the universe.

“Can you read English? D’you even know English? Do you know what I’m saying?”

Din felt stupid, talking to some hallucination-man-fish-thing, but the man nodded, so Din took that as a yes.

“Okay. Uh, well I have this.” He held out the communication board that he had brought. It was laminated—they all were, so that they would last longer—so it wouldn’t be bothered by the fact that the man reaching out a hand to take it was still dripping wet. Din had grabbed the hospital board rather than any of the core boards or fringe vocabularies, thinking that it would be the most useful. It wasn’t like Grogu already had a single-page board for mermaid trapped on the beach, and Din figured that the man was likely to be injured or hurting in some way, being so far up on the rocks. “Point to whatever you want to say.”

The merman examined the green board with interest, front and back. He seemed to read every icon carefully. The back had the alphabet and “YES”/”NO” along the bottom, a section labeled “I WANT”, a section labeled “I AM”, “I WANT TO SEE”, and a section containing icons for yes, no, thank you, stop, pen/paper. The front had pictures of a blank, uncolored body showing the front and back view with a pain scale in the middle, and icons describing different types of pain like itches, stings, can’t move. Along the sides of the front were requests for items, bathroom, and like that, don’t like, repeat that, speak louder.

After a while, Din said, “Well? Are you, uh, injured, or anything?”

The man scanned the board again, and finally pointed to the image of a glass labeled Water. As he did so, Din noticed that his fingers were webbed halfway together, with shimmering blue, nearly-transparent webbing. He looked up at Din.

“Right. Right.” Din found himself swinging his arms as he looked around the beach. He forced himself to stop. “I can. Uh.” How heavy could a fish-man be? Probably very heavy. Still—“I can bring you back to the ocean?”

The merman shook his head vehemently, eyes wide. Din noticed for the first time that they were blue, like the man’s fins. The man pointed to the red icon labeled NO over and over.

Din held up a placating hand. “Okay, okay. No ocean. Got it.” He didn’t understand in the slightest, but the message was clear. “What if I bring up a bucket?”

The man nodded.

Din…didn’t have a bucket on him. Luckily, there was a storage shed not too far from here—there was a dock about half a mile back. Once he had a bucket and filled it with water, he hesitated.

“Do you want me to just—” Din made a motion like he was going to throw the water on him.

The man gestured for the bucket. Din handed it over. The man dipped his hand in and splashed the water on the fins sticking out of his head.

Huh. Maybe those were his gills, or…something. Din didn’t exactly know that much about fish biology. Mostly what he knew about was killing. And, slowly, how to care for a nonspeaking toddler.

“Are you lost? Are you, uh, hungry?”

The man pointed to Thank you. 

Din was suddenly seized with the urge to know—”What’s your name? If—if you can spell it.” If a merman knew English, he could spell his name in English, right? Or would it be all clicks and whistles, like a dolphin?

He watched as the man spelled L—U—K—E.

“Luke.”

A nod and a smile.

“Luke,” Din said again, and wasn’t it enough that the man had an unfairly attractive face and, if he was already admitting things to himself anyway, body? Did he have to have a name that moved in Din’s mouth like that?

N—A—M—E—?

“What?”

Luke spelled it out again.

“Oh, my name.” Gods, Din was an idiot. “It’s Din. Din Djarin.”

Din. Luke mouthed the name, smiling. Din felt like he was going to combust.

“Uh, if you’re not going to go back in the ocean…” Din paused again. Luke shook his head wildly, almost unbalancing himself. Din forged on. “...would you like to come to my house? I have a bathtub I can fill with salt water for you; it’s probably more comfortable than these rocks.”

Luke pointed to Yes.

“Okay, great.”

It was quite the job getting Luke to his house. He’d thought he was pretty strong, but they had to take several breaks for Din to catch his breath. The merman was slimy in his arms, his scales rough. Luke held on to the (emptied) bucket and the hospital communication board. By the time they got back to the house, the sun was beginning to set, Din’s arms and shirt were rubbed raw, and Grogu was angry—at least, he was until he saw what Din had in his arms.

Grogu squealed. His device read out, “Mermaid! Mermaid! Mermaid!” He did a little dance, flapping his arms and twirling excitedly in the doorway.

“Move, kid,” Din grit out, muscles shaking. Luke waved from his arms.

Grogu got out of the way and Din made it all the way into the bathroom before he had to set Luke down again lest he drop him. Luke shivered on the cold tile. Din had to reach over him to turn on the tap. Grogu waited in the doorway, watching.

“Oh—sorry, do you need salt water?”

Luke pointed to Yes, his hands shaking. His golden-blond hair was drying now, into thick waves around his gills. Some of the blue spots on his skin were turning colorless, as well, which probably wasn’t great.

“Kid, stay with him a minute, I’m gonna get salt water.” Din pulled the drain open and stood, shaking off the water.

More buckets. More trips back and forth to the shore. It took more than Din had thought to fill up the bathtub. Luke splashed himself every so often as he waited. Grogu had brought in the whole folder of laminated communication boards, and pulled down the laminated booklet on a hook from the bathtub, and he and Luke were engaged in a vibrant conversation that meant that Din had to watch where he stepped lest he slip.

Finally, the tub was full, and Din hauled Luke up one last time, and into the water. Luke slapped his tail excitedly, splashing water everywhere. Grogu squealed, raising his little hands up to the sky. Din was entranced by the water shining off Luke’s blue scales, the almost translucent…skin?...on the bottom fin, the rigid, darker blue spines that held it together.

An alarm shook Din out of his thoughts.

He stood. “I’ve got to make dinner and get everything set up for the night. Are you two good here?”

Luke held up a beach vocabulary board and pointed to Yes. Grogu squealed again, nodding vigorously.

“Try not to make too much of a mess,” Din said. He put two towels on the floor in front of the tub, which soaked up some of the water. He held back a sigh. Fighting mold was a constant battle, in a building so close to the ocean. Hopefully any mold-related damages wouldn’t get taken out of his paycheck, even if they were in the bathroom and therefore probably his fault.

Attending to his regular duties kept Din’s mind off the merman in his bathroom for a while. He stood outside long enough to get a sense of the weather, and reported it on the radio, then listened to the airwaves for a while to see if there were any nearby boaters that needed rescuing—an über-rare occurrence, on this island. He briefly entertained the idea of radioing in his “rescue” of Luke, but what would he say? “I found a merman”? Saying that would be a one-way ticket to a psych eval if not a hospital stay - in other words, losing this safe haven where he and his son lived. Besides, without the merman in front of him, the whole thing felt like a dream. A dream that left raw skin on his chest and arms. A dream he wouldn’t breathe a word about.

He walked around the perimeter of the lighthouse and the station house, noting down any damages that would need repair or repainting soon. Took inventory of foodstuffs—they were starting to run low, but a supply was due in a week, and they had the garden, as long as a storm didn’t take it out. Tended the garden—ripped out some kudzu that kept somehow finding its way onto this isolated island, squirted bugs off the rosemary with one of Grogu’s little water guns. Checked on the water filters, generators, and radio antenna. Luckily everything was in decent order in spite of a day of neglect.

The sun was well and truly set by the time that Din went back inside the station house and started making dinner—chicken fingers, Grogu’s favorite. After some hesitation, he threw some frozen fish sticks on the baking tray as well. Maybe Luke would eat them. Din hadn’t gone fishing in a few weeks; Grogu had had him working their way through a craft book Cara had brought them at the last supply drop, which didn’t leave a lot of time for much beyond his daily duties, time consuming as they were. If Luke wanted fresh fish, Din could go fishing tomorrow.

He stacked up three plates on his arms and brought them into the bathroom. Not a large bathroom to begin with, it was a crowded space between the adult, the kid, and the mermaid. Setting his own on the white marbled sink countertop, he handed a plate of chicken fingers and broccoli to Grogu and a plate of fish sticks to Luke.

“It’s fish,” he explained. “With breadcrumbs.” At Luke’s blank look, Din hastily explained, “Bread is, uh, it comes from grain, wheat, and so it’s kind of…like…well, it’s a carbohydrate. I dunno if you have those in…the ocean. Try it, and tell me if you can eat it, or if you need something else.” He sorted through Grogu’s communication boards scattered on the tile floor, and found one with ocean creatures, which he set on the rim of the bathtub.

Grogu turned his nose up at the broccoli with a huff.

“Come on, kid, you’ve gotta have vegetables.” Din was too tired to really argue the point tonight, but Grogu didn’t need to know that.

Luke reached one dripping hand out of the tub and pointed to the broccoli on Grogu’s plate, with an encouraging sort of Go on expression, nodding. The broccoli got a little damp at the touch of his pale finger. Din grimaced, sure that the salt water would ruin whatever little chance there was of getting the kid to eat his vegetables.

Grogu surprised him by digging in.

Din blinked.

Alright then. He’d keep slightly soggy in mind, on his list of ‘things that get Grogu to eat.’ Kids were mysterious creatures sometimes.

Din ate his own plate of chicken fingers and broccoli sitting on the closed toilet seat, watching the two of them interact. It was, of course, mostly silent, occasionally interspersed with one of Grogu’s noises like “ba!” Luke picked at his fishsticks (after scraping off the breading), Grogu picked at his chicken fingers. Their hands were pretty occupied with the boards. At this angle, he couldn’t see all that they pointed to, but he saw the fairytale board, ocean, and mythology. And home.

.

.

.

After they finished eating, Din cleared the plates, and let Grogu and Luke talk for another hour while he cleaned up and checked the weather again.

“Alright kid, bedtime.”

“Ba!” Grogu said angrily, his little face scrunched up. Din’s heart melted in spite of himself. 

“No, come on, it’s time for bed.”

Luke waved his hand for Grogu’s attention. Once he had it, he exaggeratedly stretched and yawned, then put his hands together and leaned his head against them, breathing big in, and out. If he was underwater, Din was sure that there would be enormous bubbles coming out of his mouth, adding to the effect.

Grogu giggled. Luke peeked with one eye and smiled, then went right back to it.

Din gathered up all the communication boards and knocked them up on the counter, making them into a neat stack. He grabbed Grogu’s hand.

“Come on, I’ll sing to you.”

Luke broke out of his acting and waved goodbye, flapping his hand.

“I’ll check on you before I go to bed,” Din promised over his shoulder. He left the door open a crack, so that Luke could hear them move around and know that he hadn’t been left in the house alone.

Luckily Grogu’s room had a bathroom attached to it, so he could still have a quick bath—the salt water he and Luke had been splashing in all evening didn’t count—and brush his teeth before bed. Din brushed his teeth beside Grogu, glad for once that he still kept his toothbrush on his nightstand instead of in the main bathroom, an old habit from more chaotic days.

Finally, Din got Grogu clean, dry, in pajamas, and tucked into bed with his favorite frog plushie.

Din knelt beside his bed with a groan, cursing old injuries and unstretched muscles. “Alright, kid, what do you want me to sing?”

Grogu made grabby hands for his device. Din pulled it off the charger and handed it over. Grogu navigated through the pages swiftly, before finally selecting, “Sun.”

“Alright.” Din cleared his throat, and began to sing. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me hap-py, when skies are gray.”

Grogu snuggled down in his blankets, clutching his favorite Froggie close to his chest, watching Din with absolute love and trust in his eyes. It made Din’s heart clench. Stars, he loved this kid. He would move heaven and earth for him. He had, when he’d rescued him. Although really, it was Din that had been rescued that day.

He reached a hand out and caressed the soft brown hair atop Grogu’s head. “You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take, my sun-shine a-way.” He kissed his son’s forehead. “You all ready for sleep, big guy?”

Grogu squealed softly.

“Alright.” Din pressed his forehead to Grogu’s one last time as he took his device and set it on the bedside table, and turned out the light. “If you need anything, just yell.”

He closed the door softly, leaving just a crack to let light through.

Luke was waiting in the bathroom, arms folded on the rim of the bathtub, his head resting on top. He perked up when Din came in, but not much.

“How’s your, uh, oxygen?”

Luke gave a thumbs up.

“Tired?”

Luke nodded.

“Yeah, me too.” His muscles were certainly sore from lugging all that water and the merperson. He needed to work out more, probably. As busy as this job kept him, it didn’t maintain his physical fitness the way he used to. He’d let himself get…soft, as Grogu’s dad.

“You good for the night? Need any fresh water?”

Luke shook his head. Thankfully. Din didn’t particularly want to go out in the pitch dark. It would be hard to hold a flashlight and a full bucket at the same time.

“Can you write?” At Luke’s nod, Din took out a weather resistant notepad and pen and set them on the rim of the bathtub beside Luke’s head. “We’re expecting a supply run in a day or so. If you need anything, or want anything, I can radio shore and have it delivered then.”

The merman perked up. Thank you!!! he wrote, with three exclamation marks. Din huffed a laugh.

Luke wrote, head bowed, for a while. Din watched his golden hair, long dried except around his…gills, bounce softly, reflecting the overhead light. It was mesmerizing, like watching light bounce off of water.

When Luke held up the notepad again, Din had to shake himself a little to refocus.

Salmon

Oysters

Something soft to lay on the side

Something I can help you with, as payment for taking me in

Din blinked. “I don’t need you to help me with anything.”

Luke’s gaze was pleading. No: Begging.

Din shook his head. “Really. Most of my job you can’t help me with anyway; unless you can repaint the lighthouse or pull weeds.”

Luke frowned, his lip stuck out. Din couldn’t help having a little thrill at the sight. It was adorable.

“Really! I guess I could…” He really thought about it. He supposed…that the counter could use a little basket for his keys. One of Grogu’s favorites from the craft book was basket-weaving. He could show Luke how to do it, and thus keep them both occupied, and Luke could feel useful. “Do you know how to weave baskets?”

Luke nodded eagerly.

“I’ll collect some materials for you from the wildflower garden tomorrow. Grogu can help.” Din broke off with a yawn. “I’ll tell our supplier to get the rest of it. Sleep well.”

Luke pointed at Din and mimed sleeping, with his head on his hands, then nodded as if to say You too.

Din smiled and turned to go. He paused in the doorway with his hand on the light switch.

“On or off?”

Luke tilted his head, brow furrowed. To demonstrate, Din flicked the lights off, then back on. Then again, saying out loud which was which.

“Thumbs up, on. Thumbs down, off.” He showed how to do it as he spoke. Luke gave a thumbs down. “Lights off it is,” he said, turning them off. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

He left the door cracked open again and made his way up the stairs, stifling a yawn.

He wouldn’t be surprised if the bathroom was empty in the morning. Weirder things had happened.

Although, if he was honest with himself—no, weirder things hadn’t happened. Sure, he’d had some odd jobs in his old life, but none of it had involved the supernatural. No, it was all kingpins and businessmen and whistleblowers, hackers, grifters, thieves, and the occasional unopened suitcase. Once, on his last job, a child. Never a merman.

Well, this made two that he’d kept instead of killed. Two that he’d saved.

He’d definitely gone soft.

But he found…he didn't mind it.

[eridanidreams]

WIP Wednesday

tagging: @bearlytolerant, @silurisanguine, @aro-pancake, @fangbangerghoul, @atonalginger, @aislingdmdt, @fshenkoescape, @ninjaofnaps, @lisa-and-shadow, @a-cosmic-elf, @thatsgoodsquishy0, @hockeydemon42, @fomagranfalloon, @violenceandviolets, @therealgchu, @staticpallour, @artemis-crimson, and @constellation2330

from stars through my fingers like grains of sand

Cait was curled up in one corner of the couch, while Sam stretched out along the rest of its length, his head on her thigh. She needed some space; he needed to be close, and this was a compromise that gave her at least some control. He had no idea how long they sat there in silence, listening to each other breathe.

He was the one to finally break it. "You need a break," he said quietly, his voice still a little raspy from the earlier strain. She let out a deep sigh, but didn't actually answer. He rolled onto his back, the better to see her face; after a few more moments, he added, "I mean it. Something's gotta give before you do." This time she gave a soft little noise of acknowledgement—but again, nothing else. "Cait," he said, firmly, "you said you'd adjust. But from where I'm looking, it's not happening." He didn't feel the need to tell her he was worried when she could probably feel it perfectly clearly.

"No," she finally conceded. "It's not." She was quiet for another long moment. "And I don't know why."

He let out a short, unamused laugh. "Maybe because every time you start something else punches you in the brain?"

She winced. "I wouldn't put it that way…"

"I would," he replied. "No more Towers for awhile. At least another week." Before she could bridle at something that sounded like an order, he added, "Please."

It took the wind out of her. "Okay," she said. "I just—"

"I know," Sam gentled his voice. "I know how excited everyone is. And don't get me wrong, I'm excited, too, but I'm also the one with the up close and personal view of what it's doing to you. What it's costing you." A stray lock of hair fell into his face. Before he could blow it back out, her hand was there, gently brushing it back; he couldn't stop a soft noise of contentment at her touch. "Can do that anytime you like, darlin'," he murmured.

Cait's hand trembled a little as she pulled it back. "I want to," she admitted, but there was something about the way she said it…

"But…?" he prompted.

Her voice was all but inaudible. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop."

He blinked in confusion. "I'm not overloading you, am I?" She shook her head in silent negation. "Then I don't see the problem." He reached up to briefly cup the back of her neck before letting his arm fall again. "And there obviously is one or you still wouldn't be eating yourself up. And since I'm not the mind-reader here…"

She let out a disgruntled little huff. "Emotions, Sam." He just gave her an unrepentant grin. "Augh. Didn't you notice—when I got to you—?"

Abruptly, his amusement fled, chased away by the memory of fear; he sat up in a single smooth motion and spun around to face her. "Yeah. I noticed you didn't fucking run." Thinking about it still made him angry. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I WASN'T!" Just as abruptly, she shoved herself to her feet, wrapping her arms around her chest. More quietly, she added, "That's what I've been trying to tell you." She didn't turn back to look at him; just took a few stumbling steps to the porthole and leaned her forehead against the glass.

Sam throttled down his anger through sheer force of will, taking slow and steady breaths through his nose until his heart stopped pounding and he could think more clearly. (He hadn't meant to get angry, but the thought of losing her—no. He cut the thought off before it could wind him back up.) "Okay," he said, trying to bring his voice back in line with the rest of him. It shook a little, but he figured he could live with that. "I'm sorry I yelled, darlin'." He took another deep breath. "And I'm listening."

Cait was quiet for a long several minutes. Finally, her voice faltering, she said, "When the Fleet jumped you—" He felt a brief stab of dismay at the reference, but tried to reassure himself that she wouldn't use it against him—Lillian had, an insidious little voice whispered in his head, but Cait wasn't Lillian. "You said it felt right. Like what you were meant to be."

"Yeah," he rasped. "That's right. That what you felt?"

"No." She still wouldn't look at him. "Not like what I was meant to be. Just… what I am. No… thought. No fear. No complications." She exhaled shakily. "No mercy. Just… rage and purpose." Her arms drew tighter around her. "Monster from the id," she whispered. "I wanted them gone—no. I wanted them dead. I wanted to kill them myself. And I did."

Sam stood, carefully, not wanting to startle her. "You're not a monster, Cait."

"They threatened you." Her voice was implacable. "They threatened you and I killed them for it." Her head swiveled toward him, but all he could see of her eyes was the reflection from the lights. "And I would do it again." Her head turned back to the cold of space. "Does that sound sane to you?"

The question she was really asking rang so clear in the air between them that Sam was surprised it was only in his mind. Does that sound human to you? He drifted up to the other side of the window, giving her space but making it clear he was there for her, and gave her the only answer he could. "You don't think I feel the same way? That I don't want to rip every single one of those vermin that even looks at you the wrong way limb from limb? I would move planets to keep you safe if I could." He was suddenly angry again—not at her, but at the people who had driven the doubts and uncertainties so deeply into her psyche that she questioned her very humanity. Before he could stop himself, his fist was smashing into the bulkhead, hard enough to dent it. "Dammit, Cait! The only thing you have ever done is protect me! Time and again! Even when you're out of your goddamned head!" He willed her to look at him. "Listen to me, goddamn it. Not the nightmares. Not the whispers. Me." Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned to face him. "I am not lying to you. And I will not lose you to ghosts." He reached out across the gulf that separated them, almost surprised to find it was less than the length of his arm, and clasped a hand around hers. "And damned if I'll let you lose yourself to them, either."

[spiced-koi-friend]

Face Card

Ruze won't let up with the teasing, and it's making it rather difficult to get anything done. Gabriel hopes he means well, because he can't help but feel paranoid about all of this still. But you being here makes it better, at least a little bit.

Previous Chapter

Assassin!Goldbullet x Politician!F!Reader, TW: none Words: 1738 | Rating: R | AO3

The rest of the day seems to go by without much of a hitch, although when he’s the threat that he’s supposed to be protecting you from, it’s more of a matter of self control than looking for sneaky assailants. The other guys are chill, although when he’s been placed as one of your personal bodyguards, it is a bit difficult to have much of a chance to talk with them. Ruze keeps elbowing him in the ribs and pushing him into you, Gabriel feeling real bad when he tumbled into you and you got a face full of titty. One minute you’re looking at the mayor’s tits through your sniper scope, the next you’re giving her an up close and personal view of your own. Some may say that’s a fair bargain, but Gabriel wanted to shove Ruze’s face into a brick wall for that.

He has no doubt that this is making it difficult for both of you to work when Ruze keeps pushing you together like dolls. But he’s gone through extensive anti-torture resilience training. Gabriel will not let something as simple as a bastard of a boss trying to get him alone with the mayor. Which, does Ruze work for Altare? Is he trying to give him an opportunity to take you out, and he’s just far too flustered to realize what he’s trying to do? Has he caught onto him and is trying to trap him in it so he can be taken out?

…

Ruze is rather proud of himself, crossing his arms as he grins and leans against the wall. Managed to get the two of you blushing and red once again. It’s turning into a bit of a game of how often he can fluster the two of you and make you personally as unproductive as possible.

“Hey! Back to work! This place won’t run itself, at least not with me nearly catching the two of you kissing all the time! Augh, making me third wheel is the worst. You guys are the worst.”

“Ruze, I sign your paycheques. Shut the actual fuck up.”

“How about this, I’ll go grab us some coffees, and the two of you will have to suffer the silence that comes with my lack of a presence. Remember to leave room for Elysium Jesus!”

Normally he’d not want to leave you alone with a new recruit, but there’s something about how Goldie has been acting that makes him rather protective of you. There’s just a certain way he holds himself, how even when Ruze gets close that he stands up a bit straighter. Normally he’d be one to put a bitch in their place for staring daggers at him, but the look of adoration he gives you when you’re the focus of his attention kind of gives it away. Ruze just figures that he’s your secret boyfriend and you just hadn’t told him yet. Until you confess, he’s just gonna continue to tease. 

He has absolutely no clue what Goldie likes in his coffee, but he’s been working for you long enough to know how to make yours while blinking and his hands tied behind his back. Not that he’s necessarily tried, but that’s not the point. Ruze does stop by Bettel’s desk, wanting a bit more dirt on Goldie to tease him about.

“Sup nerd.”

“Ruze, why do I sense you’ve been banished out here for causing problems?”

“Because you’ve been working here for basically the same amount of time that I’ve been. Little ol’ Betsy doesn’t want to look at this handsome mug?”

“You look better with your mask on.”

Ruze feigns offense, setting down the coffees to clutch his chest.

“My weakness! Being told I’m too pretty! Gotta keep my mask on to keep enough bitches for the rest of you.”

“It’d make my life easier, the last date I had was with the virtual assistant on my phone.”

“Bettel, buddy, you gotta get out. Go, I don’t know, lurk in a Taco Bell parking lot and just threaten someone with a knife until they go on a date with you. Or unleash bugs into their air vents when they say no.”

“That sounds like a good way to get arrested with a handful of felonies to boot. “

“Eh, I haven’t been arrested yet.”

Ruze cackles as he picks the coffees back up, incredibly amused by the look of horror on Bettel’s face. Never a dull day when there’s a clown in the lobby to entertain you. 

…

What did you do to deserve this treatment? Poor Gabriel keeps apologizing for Ruze pushing him into you at every chance he gets, even though you know damn well it’s Ruze. What is even worse, is that it’s not making your crush easier to get rid of, and that almost scares you as much as someone trying to kill you yesterday. Gabriel doesn’t even look at you once Ruze leaves the room, hiding beneath his hat and fiddling with his necklace.

“You know, I know that it’s Ruze. He has some, weird idea in his head thinking I like you or something weird like that. I mean- I do! I think you’re nice, and you seem passionate about your job. But he seems to think that there’s something more than that. Unfortunately I don’t have any better advice than just, endure him being a pill until he eventually gets bored of it. As soon as it stops being funny, he’ll just find something else. He’s probably just being a bit hard on you because you’re a closer assignment than the other boys. But you let me know if he’s picking on you, and I’ll give him an earful. Wouldn’t be the first time…”

“I’m okay, but I appreciate it. I’m a big boy, I can handle my own shit. If I couldn’t, well, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation, would we?”

“I suppose not. I just know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s good at his job and he’s been keeping me safe for longer than I’ve been a mayor. Met back when I was still just campaigning, he volunteered himself for the position before I had even considered needing bodyguards. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if Bettel chose so many of you because he wanted more people to talk to during the day. I’m just glad he enjoys talking that much because he’s very efficient on the phone.”

“I’m not everyone’s cup of tea either, although I don’t think anyone is. If you were perfect for everyone, you wouldn’t have Altare running against you, right?”

“That bastard. He just laid off a bunch of people from one of his companies to get more money to finance his campaign. And don’t get me started on his mutt of a head bodyguard. Might as well have gotten an actual dog, he literally barked at me at a debate.”

Gabriel laughs, brightening up a bit.

“I take it that Ruze didn’t take kindly to that?”

“Oh he just barked right back. He is not above barking at people either, he just prefers to use a weapon to scare people off instead.”

“Honestly, I bet that was more entertaining than the debate itself.”

“It was a little amusing having to hold them back, as no one else was really on stage. There technically was the venue security, but I don’t think any of them were brave enough to get in between Axel and Ruze when they were nearly at each other's throats.”

“So should I bring a dog leash or popcorn to the next debate.”

“No one collars the great Crimzon Ruze.”

You hold your face in your hands, actually enjoying being able to talk to Gabriel without Ruze’s supervision. He sets your coffee down in front of you, laughing when you flip him off in repayment. Gabriel smells the coffee, making a face.

“Not like I poisoned it, Goldie. Just drink the damn coffee.”

“You can never be sure! I had someone poison a muffin once, couldn’t eat them for like a year and a half after that. I guess unless I made them myself, but I'd rather make other foods. Pan de mallorca is a good one, that can go with like, anything.”

“Ooh! If you make any, I’d love to try some.”

You tried not to seem too enthusiastic, but the raised eyebrow from Ruze makes you realize perhaps your eagerness was a bit obvious. But Gabriel just smiles at you, and you get a glance at his canines, looking a bit sharper than you were expecting. Certainly not a downside though. 

“Yeah! I’d totally love to bring some in. I can’t promise any time soon, but I’ll save you at least one the next time I make a batch.”

“Already planning your next date without me? No bread for your best bud Ruze?”

“It’s just bread, Ruze.”

“Bullshit! I once ate two packages of hawaiian rolls that were accidentally delivered to my door and I regret nothing. It is never “just bread”, it is the essence of life.”

“Alright Ruze, I’ll bring you some too.”

“FUCK YEAH!”

The three of you can’t help but laugh at Ruze’s excitement, shaking your head at his behavior.

“Be glad Gabriel likes you, he’s been here for less than a day and you’ve been nothing but a pill to him!”

“So… do I need to try harder?”

…

Ruze hands Gabriel his business card, making him adjust his grip on his coffee to read it.

“Elysium’s greatest bodyguard and your least favorite professional. Ask me about my bugs.”

Gabriel takes a second to read it again, just to verify that yes, it does in fact say that.

“And you, hand these out to people?”

“If they piss me off enough. I usually don’t have enough time to do solo work anymore after I started working for the princess over here.”

“Oi! You volunteered to protect me!”

“Yeah, sorry buddy. She already spilled your tragic backstory.”

“Damnit!”

His cackle is nearly contagious, but it doesn’t help the conflict in Gabriel’s chest. He wanted to make a comment when you were trying to get him to feel better about Ruze’s teasing, but there was still part of him that wished you did like him, because maybe he could actually justify his own crush. Maybe Ruze isn’t setting him up, but it honestly won’t make any of this feel any less painful.

You just had to have that goddamn pretty face.

[transgaypiratesanta]

so I’ve seen some posts of quotes from the oxventure, and OH BOY. I have full-on NOTES about the oxventure and every piece of canon and fan theories I can get my grubby little paws on, AND I HAVE A LOT OF QUOTES. SO…. HAVE FUN WITH THESE!

DND

“Spicy… like a rat.”

“You asked the whales name?” “I’m just thoughtful like that.”

“Always check your bonfires for hedgehogs.”

“Needless to say Cthulhu is pleased and lunch is ruined”

“Oh no the cube! Not the cube!”

“He looks like dob but somehow evil and sexy”

“Nooooo… my mojo…”

“Oh you totally give the baby a dagger!” “That’s parenting 101”

“I flinch greasily.”

“Guys be real are we murder hobo’s?”

“I just wanna say I’m really proud of the amount of murder we’ve done.”

“Have you heard of the guild of the national trust?”

“Oo man I can’t wait to get redemption let’s kill everyone.”

“Do you have pamphlets?” “Let’s bore them to death!”

“Decisive action: throw that cat.”

“I have a moral objection but I’m going to let it happen because this seems cool.”

“🎵it’s getting hot in here. And they will all explode🎵”

“I lick the book and I am pleased”

“I know a lot of my plans revolve around watching dob sleep”

“Shut your filthy mouth Corazon”

“Let’s have a spooky sleepover.”

“Nature is beautiful.” “It sure was”

“+4! +2! +2! NUMBERS!”

“It’s not on fire or anything!” “Not yet, give me time!”

“We’re gonna have a sleepover in this crypt!”

“It couldn’t have been me-meant? If it wasn’t already… broked. That’s what I’ve always said”

“🎵maaaagic hand! Come out of my real hand!🎵”

“Wear whatever you want! Your bones, probably.”

“Their prudence hat”

“Is it orphans? You gotta tell us if it is.” “Ah. It’s orphans boss.”

“Skeletons… AHHHHHH”

“I love these loophole skeletons!”

“I would like to attempt to cast mend on the orphans”

“We just want less orphan juice”

“I’m imagining you making a snowman out of orphan paste”

“Oooo Skeletons be dexterous”

“We’re all team skeleton just some of us have flesh on top”

“I never liked you Kevin”

“Guys I’m not not in trouble”

“And then I turn the internal heat dial to cremation”

“BETTER OUT THAN IN DOES NOT APPLY TO ORGANS”

“MY ORGANS!”

“Do you want a vomit hug?”

“I’m putting my foot down on the husks.” “But then they’d just burst!”

“Is it bad that bear me wants to eat the husks? No I won’t I’ll be good”

“And I’m trying desperately to remain eye contact with HER, and not look at you guys swimming around in sandwiches”

“It’s in runes or something what is that?” “That’s a seven.”

“The consequences! They’re here again!”

“Meowwww” “I DONT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!”

“Awh. And I’ve got his BOOTS!”

“Dob what did I tell you about necromancy?”

“Let’s put capitalism in the lake!”

“We can always claim it’s the fireworks show!” “NOT IF WE’RE DEAD!”

“Dogs are bound in skin!”

“MERILWEN THERES A BEAR! GO TURN INTO A BEAR OR FIGHT IT… or marry it… or something”

“Have we tried to befriend the footprints?” “Talk to the footprints!”

“Two very impulsive boi’s”

“Grease man from the ocean”

“Respectfully yeet him off the mountain.” “A somber yeet”

“If I was in something for 2 years”

“I saw the holes on the front and thought ‘that must be all the holes’ but then I looked on the back and there was ANOTHER HOLE THERE!”

“What are you dreaming about?” “Salmon.”

“Oh no they’ll take over the world with inexpensive furniture!”

“Break his spirit.” “And his back 😈”

“3 dimensional chess is just chess!”

“AUGH. OH YES. BISQUE 😩”

“What’s in this drawer? Dob? Oh no that’s a paperclip.” 

“Person in charge of the Prudence mech”

“🎵yees I’m the best at thunderwave turns out!🎵”

“My shin!” “My Shin!” “… our Shin.”

“DID YOU JUST SUGGEST MERILWEN COMMIT AUTOCANNIBALISIM IN BEAR FORM?”

“I’m just a chicken walking around with a flameblade”

“🎵Eleanor rigbee, lived in a hive because she was a bee. Whooedy whee!🎵”

“The pirate. Didn’t. Say that.”

“This is the energy in the room we’re all going to regret later” “says that of the orphanage.” “I regretted it later!”

“Though he could discover spoons at any point”

“Phase one: walk to crime. Phase two: do crime”

“I’ll just do it and be a legend”

“In a way we’re already married in a very deep and legal way.” “For tax purposes.”

“Why is there so much tentacle milk here?”

“You just hear anarchy noises from out the window”

“We’re running out of time before he murders us accidentally with an idiom” “with beans”

“I’m buying ecstasy from an owl?”

“The sounds of muffled pirate violence”

“She might just destroy the world, which is where we keep all our stuff!”

“I faint.” “Okay dob’s having a short rest” “OH YEAH!”

“Thick orange hot water”

“She’s got the cutest little forces of darkness 🥰”

“As the Druid, no.” “As the dm, INSPIRATION!”

“I cast shatter on the only planet we have”

“I cast fracking”

“WE. ARE. COASTAL!”

“The eldrich being Flannery”

“We’re fracking landlords”

“Now we leave you and see if you go buduhduhduhduh”

“Cattle go missing, we never find out what happens to all the Harris’s” “season over.”

“It’s practically a victimless crime, unless there’s a victim, in which case hopefully it’s a hard to trace crime”

“I grease Merilwen to give her the best chance”

“WHY AM I DYING?”

“Because you told me to piss off!” “So you did THIS?” “yeah” “I HAVE MINUTES TO LIVE!” 

“How’s the shat?”

“I cast mending on our friendship 🥺”

“How does a jackle… lift a bunch of cars?” “I don’t know.” “You jack ‘em all.” *weird laughter*

“Yes. No more pain where you’re going friend. No, you’re not very nice actually.”

“Well, solved the Richard problem!” “But what about the Dob problem”

“It’s very demeaning, so okay.”

“Well no Millie or ori that is obviously not okay. Little idiot.”

“Oh I HATE nature”

“Who wants in on my corpse sled idea?”

“Dob.” *quiet laughter* “oh no.”

“I give them an appraising look as if sizing up their corpses”

“I am literally everyone else in the world which means I am the best at sighing crying sad goodbying to my plot, the npc’s, the sanctity of lore…”

“These patrons aren’t gonna lick themselves!”

“Ohhhh it’s a sex thing.”

“Rule 3 no kink shaming.” “Damn right.”

“He drifts out the door… to go find something to kiss.”

“WAIT! I’ve had a thought! I want to kiss the dragon man.”

“Well. You’ve effed this right up Dob.”

“Well, if you’re dreaming about that, it’s probably out to get you.” “Every time you sleep, it gets a little bit closer.”

“It is always agonising Johnny!”

“Let me use my bonus action to slip in my own grease”

“All things must drink. I say wisely, and inaccurately”

“You take 4 points of… becoming soup damage”

“It occurs to all of you, and pardon my infernal, this is a shit idea.”

“Why do i have find steed if it’s not a rodeo?”

“I cough up some hemp and rope.” “Oh perfectly horrifying! Sure, yeah.”

“We never elected a leader!” “How could you talk to your leader like that?”

“I like turning into a cat all the time, the problem is I can’t do it.”

“that horny crew member sticks his head out to watch”

“So it’s slightly uncomfortable… and you outlive all your lovers… sounds like a good thing!”

“I wish to arrest Cthulhu now start screaming”

BLADES IN THE DARK

“Sir we’re in an antique shop.”

“What a great excuse to do some crime, though!”

“Nothing bad has ever happened to me in my entire life, I don’t think it’s going to start now!”

“Is it meant to be on fire? Because it’s on fire.”

“ITS A MASTERCLASS! It’s not a masterclass…”

“Classic squiffy, what a lad.”

“Hey! I need you to do me a favour! Well I say a favour, I’m compelling you.”

“We do a literal hitman, as in you run up, and hit the man.”

“He’ll live, but not well.”

“Spinning tops in places you don’t want them”

“I want a ghost who’s obsessed with me!”

“Everyone’s going out the front door! I’m just gonna set the house on fire!”

“Here’s what happens Barnaby, you glorious liability.”

“Have you heard about this thing called a union?” “… Let’s montage the rest of this conversation”

“Roll me for ‘Dave? Dave!’”

“Barbaby and workers rights are on the opposite end on the political spectrum”

“It’s not apoplectic with rage, it’s apoplectic with being right.”

“Fresh fish!” “Lovely crimes!”

“It’s going terribly here in the present! Maybe it went better in the past!” “Let’s retreat to the safety of the past.”

“I didn’t want to taste the sweat of the poor in the air!”

“So you want to be a nice, clean, sanitised butcher?”

“It’s like riding a bike” “a violent bike” “it’s like punching a bike”

“I came here to study ghosts, not become one!” “Imagine how much study you could do if you became one!” “I can’t hold pens!”

“The gilded idiot”

“Hands in the middle. Aaaaand dead Barnaby!”

“I’m choking a guy out… with my thighs”

“I smile. In a way that  conveys limitless rage”

“I do not want to be traumatised because of archiving!”

“Won’t someone think of the molluscs?”

“Lilly and Zilly on a wedding adventure”

“Generally I judge things, but sometimes I choke them unconscious”

“The tiny urchins really wanted us to do it”

“No one tell him he has NO SOUL”

“Who is this anthropomorphic mouse?” (It was a child)

“Sorry I tried to fix it with fish”

“I’m going to start a clock that the wonderful mechanical man is working on without any of you”

“Are these children going to be okay?” “We’re they okay to begin with?”

“Stop making out with that brick!” “I’m not- do you know what making out is, Edvard?”

“I let my hatred of stairs get the better of me”

“I’m furious at my forearm.”

“It’s a piece of trash! Looks like something Edvard would make!”

“Mechanical man parts”

“Moving on briefly from infanticide, good job, I just asked you for your name”

“A healing cloak is quite hard to fill so I thought stuff that, I’ve acquired 2 giant goats”

DEADLANDS

“How old are you?” “Old enough. Are you old enough to make good decisions?” 

“No more digging graves for neat, I’m gonna be putting people in graves for money!”

“I had a mule once.”

“That’s adulthood. Being angry all the time, but pushing it down until it’s the right time.”

“Have you ever met someone in your life who doesn’t like jerky?”

“I REMEMBER IT BEING A SIN”

“Let’s hope they’re extremely religious”

“Yeah well Andy’s lying, Andy wants us to fail.”

“I like to drink milk after I shoot two men in the throat”

“Very well then, Mr… not free”

“As you pass by the door, it does clip on the brim of your hat and it falls over your eyes and you can’t see anything.”

“Okay, okay.” *silence* “AAAAAAAH”

“I look at the other one, which seems like his spirit it hasn’t been broken yet 😡”

“I’m saying it nicely but in my head im like: I will kill you later.”

“Not trying to be rude, why do you smell so bad? I’m not trying very hard”

“Contracted late-stage tuberculosis. Got better.”

“Animal that’s been jerked”

“Tell me your life story”

“JERRY WHY”

“Horses can play, and you’re worried about if they can sit?”

“I’ve got a d8, but it’s now -2, because I’m DEAD”

*stabs someone in the eye* “oh sorry, I simply stopped paying attention!”

“Heck. Furthermore, dang.”

“One of the strangulation ones.” “Oh fun!”

“Is sharp rope a thing? WELL SHARPEN IT.”

“Sticky mc bang bang!”

“It was a terrible crime, I cut my lawn and i cut it too short. Anyway I’m to be hanged.”

“The cell is now swarming with ants.” “Yay!”

“Murder, for example, would be a no no!”

“He’s the same old Nate he’s just soft and cold”

[flightlessribbons]

Dialogue transcript under the cut

Dawn: YESSS!! WON AGAIN!!

Barry: WHAT?!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! There’s no way you won with that!!

Dawn: Ooohooho- Battle Fromtier Brain Barry’s a sore loser? Beaten by some chick at Pokken? PFFT- how embarrassing!

Barry: SHUT UP. I’ll fine you a million dollars right now if you keep going!How are you so unprofessional?! Aren’t you supposed to be an esteemed professor?!

Dawn: I’m on vacation! I can be as bad as I want- I’m off the clock!!

Barry: AUGH-

Lucas: …Are you guys fighting over Pokken again?

Dawn: There would have to be a challenge to call it fighting-

Barry: DAWN.

Dawn: -but yeah, we are. Vacations at the villa are the best! Thanks for inviting us, Lucas!

Lucas: I didn’t invite you guys. I mentioned one day that I’d be going to the villa to look into something for my mom, and Dawn you said: “A vacation sounds so nice right now! We haven’t had one in so long!” and by the next day, you and Barry were packed and ready to go. Saying quote: “Thanks for hosting the vacay, Luc!”. I mean, I don’t mind, I’ve still been doing my research with Dialga for Mom, and you guys are just doing your own thing. It’s just a  bit funny how it all happened. 

Barry and Dawn: …I’M AN AWFUL-

Barry: -BEST FRIEND.

Dawn: -GIRLFRIEND.

Barry: We have to make things up to him- we just invited ourselves!!

Dawn: Agreed!!

Lucas: Huh?

Barry: Here’s a blanket to warm you, Lucas. Do you want any hot cocoa? Any candy- I’ll steal from Dawn’s secret stash. I’ll iron your clothes, groom your pokemon- you want money?! I’ll give YOU a million dollars-

Lucas: Uh…

Dawn: Do you need anything else? I can file your paperwork- do your research! Massage? Food? You want a better computer? A phone? I’ll get it!

Lucas: What are you guys doing?

Barry: We’re trying to amend our past mistakes and trying not to get disowned fro  our current roles. 

Lucas: Oh my Arceus you two…

Dawn: Is it working, should we do more- Barry we gotta do more.

Lucas: You two are fine- you don’t have to do anything, okay? 

Barry: You’re too nice to us Lucas. Stop it. 

Lucas: Pfft- let me finish. If you guys wanna go next time, just ask me. Worst I can say is no, but it really was no problem this time. So just relax, I”m okay.

Barry: *BUZZ BUZZ* Hold on- I’m getting a call…from my cousin in Unova?

Lucas: Bianca? I hope she’s okay.

Dawn: You gonna answer her?

Barry: Duh- nosy.

Dawn: Bitch.

Lucas: Guys.

Barry and Dawn: Sorry.

Barry: Hey Bianca, what’s up?

Bianca: Barry! Were you crying? Are you okay?

Barry: We had a family bonding moment, nothing to worry about.

Bianca: We?

Dawn and Lucas: Hi Bianca!

Bianca: OH good!! Lucas, Dawn- you’re there too! Fantastic, that’ll save me a call or two. I’m guessing you guys aren;t home right now, but there’s some letters that should;ve arrived today- but I wanted to talk about it with you guys first! So there’s this group starting up that you three might be interested in…

[coochellati]

I'm so sorry to hear what happened Jovia!

Man this stuff with your mother is fucked up. I had a friend, her grandma was similar, but instead of valuing a house she valued money more than her family. They didn't even hold contact at all because of this.

I saw a lot of people setting up a Ko-fi page for supposting, that might help! Though read about what it does, sadly I don't know how it works.

I hope everything will be alright. You know what yes! Everything will be figured out because your boyfriend, us and Bruno are with you! :D

-PBS anon

thank you so much for the support, it means so much to me. Seriously, all your asks make me smile. 🩷🩷 heheheh i got that Bruno bot up and running so im probably gonna make him say comforting things, which I WILL share here, but first i gotta learn how speak the way Bruno speaks. The AI bot can transpose my voice all the way down to Bruno’s, so my higher-pitched voice isn’t a problem, but i need to have the diction there too…. anyways, not trying to get to get too off-topic here speaking about the bot but 😂

I just cannot fathom how anyone could possibly think that money is more important to them than their kid. (I’m talking about my mother and your friend’s grandmother—cuz at the end of the day, my mom just wants to keep a “perfect” house so she can sell it for maximum profit.

oh my god when we were kids, she would yell at us so much if we “hurt it” in any way. (Actually, nah, she still does this.) But like, dents in the wall are going to happen. Chipped paint is going to happen. It’s not like we tried to destroy it, but like. Kids are kids. and you shouldn’t yell at them. Can you really expect to keep a house absolutely perfect?

That’s actually a really good idea. I’ve considered a GoFundMe, but im also kind of scared to ask the internet for help? Augh. i think i should just bite the bullet and do it—i literally have $40 to my name. Would Ko-fi bet a better place…? I will look into it……….

[ollyou]

ok im asking: how are you today?

✨👍.

I FELT A LITTLE AWKWARD ANSWERING THIS BECAUSE I ACTUALLY WAS NOT DOING VERY WELL AT THE TIME YOU SENT THIS. But I’m quite a bit better now and that’s what matters! I’ve been playing a LOT of Terraria and got the physical release of Cuphead very recently, so I’ve been playing that as well. IT’S ACTUALLY… PRETTY EASY WHEN YOUVE SEEN SO MANY PLAYTHROUGHS OF IT…. AHAHAHA but I gotta say. The platforming levels are the worst for me (I get way more risky with them since there are collectables in the levels, and I get more discouraged walking through the same place over and over again when I know I could just speed through it, but would get hurt). Right now I’m… at the level after the flying lady???? That laughs and turns into the moon?

Can you tell I never had a Cuphead phase. /j

It’s a fun game, though! I’m actually enjoying it a lot more than I expected I would— people on YouTube always made it look like this impossible game that sucks your will to live from you as you keep failing, but so far it’s been a very nice trial and error sort of deal!

AUGH… BUT IM RAMBLING AGAIN. I COULDVE MADE THIS WAY LONGER, BUT I’LL STOP MYSELF HERE. I hope YOU’RE having a good day though!!

[pallastronomy]

3 (both in and outside of frontier!), 5, and 12 for the revstar ask game!! teehee :3c

Going to try so hard not to give multiple answers for these but am probably going to fail lmao

Putting this below the cut. Azure ramble purposes you know how it is

3. What is your favorite friendship / character dynamic from the franchise?

In Frontier? Aruru and Shizuha hands down. It’s a dynamic I don’t think gets explored enough which makes me sad bc the parallels are there!! Albeit for different reasons both of them were terrified of aiming for position zero and bottling up parts of themselves for fear of hurting people and ending up alone and it’s just. Something about Aruru finally giving Shizuha the push she needed to keep moving forward and Shizuha being the one spearheading the effort to give that same push back to Aruru in Arcana Arcadia is just. Augh. My fucking heart. I want them to bond over that more in the future I want Aruru and Shizuha rivalry with the mutual understanding of ‘I don’t have to hold back or hide anything from you no matter what happens or where we go from here’ please

Aruru and Misora is a very close second bc hehe… the siblings ever. And also bc I am very very partial to friendships with my kins that remind me of me and my best friend and Aruru and Misora is definitely one of those lmao.

As for outside of Frontier? Uhhh. Literally any Fumi dynamic but Tamafumi and Akifumi especially. Idk what it is they just fucking fascinate me I want to study them under a microscope.

5. What is your favorite revue song?

Gotta hand it to Koi no Makyuu. I’m an absolute fucking sucker for good brass sections I’m sorry. Super Star Spectacle, Wagamama Highway (but specifically That One Section in the middle. You know the one), Hokori to Ogori, and Starlight are really close, and Yami o Terasumono gets an honourary mention by virtue of both being a banger and killing me instantly in context

12. What character(s) do you wish you knew more about/had a better read on?

Uhhh Seiran and Siegfeld juniour high kids by virtue of ‘I don’t know anything about them because I’ve barely seen them storywise’ but in regards to characters I’ve seen in action…. Surprise it’s a Frontier answer again. I’d have to say Lalafin on that front! I’d like to think I have decent understanding of Misora + Tsukasa + Shizuha and Aruru is… well. That’s literally me lmao. But I just don’t have that with Lalafin for some reason. I wanna know more about her man! There’s a level of understanding with what we know of the others’ backgrounds (and Shizuha and Tsukasa’s first year) where it sort of clicks that ‘oh yeah that’s why they do this or that’ but Lalafin just. Evades me. Maybe it’s because the info is scarce since the Frontier kids as individuals haven’t really been a focus until AA or maybe I’m just not picking it up but I’d love to be able to piece her together like I do the others. I’d also love to dig into more stuff with Shizuha just bc of the very clear density of stuff she’s got going on that I want to pick apart the details of more but she’s got more to work with too so. Honestly I’d kill for a better read on literally all of the non-Aruru Frontier kids. I want them to get more screentime I want more to work with! I want what Arcana Arcadia gave me with insight into Aruru but for the other four they deserve it I want to study them all

[theovergrowth]

♥ - Do not feel obligated. Oh my god do not feel obligated plz

(( SHUSH BITES YOU BITES YOU, IN MY HEAD I WAS LITERALLY LIKE “hmmmmmm I really hope scxrytxles sees this and sends one :((“ WHILE I WAS WRITING THOSE TAGS ))

(( I’m literally so Normal™️ about your characters, I love how strange but somehow deeply grounded they all are, like they all feel like people I’ve met traveling?? But the ones where you’re like “oh this person is on the road because they have some weird shit in their past”. I can’t handle it I literally read so many of your threads just to try and understand how you manage that!!!!! ))

(( Ok of course you must know by this point that I’m Obsessed with Alice. Partly because she is very Gender in a way, but also because she is just so fleshed out?? Not as much a gushing but I do need to say that the way she’s written feels so musical in my brain in a way that makes me shake, like Goddess of Imagination literally speaking in such an uncanny yet lyrical way?? I don’t know it makes me think of when I was a kid trying to read poetry but just fumbling through, it HITS ))

(( Nil is also just AUGH HIM!!!! FUCK!!!!! I’m obsessed with a gay old man who digs up graves, I don’t know a lot about him but he reminds me of this old guy I met Yellowstone who would bring you to his dorm room and just unleash Bones upon you, super cool and I’m obsessed ))

(( anyways closing thots, I know you get anxious and bad feeling towards yourself a lot and I gotta say that lots of times when you post about that I’m feeling similarly about myself and sometimes it feels better to know that other people feel similarly. But for what it’s worth!! I think you are very cool and you have many horrifying but sad and kinda metal ideas that make me forget about work every time I see the tumblr notification that you posted!! ))

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Monster!AU Kalim Fic: Whistle a Little Tune

Yaaaaay I finished this within two days! That’s a personal record wooooo!!! :D

Man, this was so much fun to write! On another note, it was so sweet as I was writing this that I gave myself a sugar rush. 😂 Hope you guys enjoy the cuteness that was inspired by this post!

@fantasy-dating-sim-trash (since you asked to be tagged once it was done 💖)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Are you sure this’ll work, Ace?”

“It’s gotta work, Grim. No one else has been able to get that whistle away from Yuu so far—unless you’ve got any bright ideas?”

“Mrrgh…I just don’t wanna hear that noise anymore. Coach does it enough in PE already!”

It had been a week since Yuu was given a whistle from Coach Vargas to encourage the students during PE classes, and over the last few days the toddler had been using it almost every second of the day. Aside from nods and head shakes, Yuu had completely reverted to using tweets and trills to “communicate” with everyone—not even the staff or the researchers could coax them to go back to using words. Anyone who tried to forcefully take it away was met with a wailing toddler, while trying to sneak it away when they were distracted or napping resulted in Yuu becoming distressed and crying. That left only one option:

Try and bribe the whistle away with something better.

“Okay, here goes nothing.”

“Good luck, Ace!”

“Don’t screw this up!”

Hiding his hands behind his back, Ace smiled as he walked over to where Yuu was lying on the floor. They were whistling a few quiet, airy trills as they focused on their coloring book, Cater—who was on babysitting duty at the moment—was sitting on the couch nearby. The hippogriff noticed Ace’s approach and—knowing what was coming—held up his phone and hit record just as Ace began to say, “Hey, Yuu! I’ve got a surprise for you~! Wanna see?”

Yuu’s eyes went wide and they nodded, immediately sitting up and trilling on their whistle. Fweet! Fu-fwoo-fwee-fuu?

“Okay, but first, how about a little game? Which hand: right, or left?”

Fuuu…fweet!

“Hm? Right hand, huh?” he said, rolling his right shoulder a bit as he followed Yuu’s pointing. “Is that your final answer?” Yuu nodded and trilled again, insistently pointing at his arm again. “Okay! You get…” Pausing for a moment, he swung his hand around and held up the prize as he said, “A cookie! Triple chocolate chip—a Trey specialty~!”

Fweeeee!! Fee-fwee-foo-fweet! Fwee!

“Oh, you really want it huh?”

Fweet!

“Well, if you really want it, I gotta hear you say the word ‘yes’ as loud and clear as you can first. Then I’ll give you the cookie, okay?”

Fuu……FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!

“Gah!?! Right in my ears!!” Ace–who had fallen over with his hands covering his rabbit ears–heaved a heavy sigh as he held out the cookie and said, “Here. It’s yours.”

Fwee-fwoo~!

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Deuce said, watching the toddler claim their prize and run over to climb in Cater’s lap to enjoy their snack. “I don’t think Yuu’s going to give up that whistle so easily though.”

“Ugh…gee, ya think?” came the disgruntled response as Ace sat up. “Anyone else got a bright idea?”

“Maybe we should just leave it be,” Trey said as he walked up to the first years. “Little kids tend to have odd quirks like that, so it’ll be best to just let them get bored on their own and move on to something else.”

Fwoo-oo-ooop~!

“Great…”

“Here, I picked up some earplugs from the shop for some of the others with sensitive hearing…just in case.”

////Later that day////

Twee-foo-fwoo-fweet?

“Oh, uh…here you go,” Epel said, holding out a couple of apple slices to Yuu, who was barely able to see over the table. Instead of accepting them, however, Yuu gave a frown as they shook their head, patting the table and trilling again. “No? Um…what about this chicken tender?” Again, Yuu shook their head with a warbling trill. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you want…”

Fwee! Twee-foo-fwoo-fweet!

“Augh…this is so frustrating,” Ace grumbled. “It’s been a guessing game ever since Yuu’s been using that whistle. Why can’t they just tell us what they want?”

Fwee? Fuu…twee-foo-fwoo-fweet! Phoo-phweet?

“Well, there’s not much we can do,” Jack said with a sigh, rubbing his aching ear. “At this point, we just have to do our best.”

“It’s impossible,” Sebek said, a frown on his face as his tail thumped heavily against the ground in annoyance. “Not even Lilia can understand what the small human wants! How are we supposed to–”

“Here you go,” a new voice said cheerfully, Kalim appearing and setting down a juice box in front of Yuu. “One juice box!”

Fweet! Fwee-fwoo~!

“You’re welcome,” Kalim answered with a beaming smile as Yuu pulled it closer to them and working to stick the straw in the hole. “Did you want anything else?”

Fwooo…fwee-fu-fu-fwoot?

“Sure thing!” he said, oblivious to the multiple sets of eyes from various tables staring at him as he scampered over to the cafeteria line. After retrieving a bowl from the offered selection, he returned and placed it–and a spoon–in front of them and said, “Here you go: one bowl of yummy pudding!”

Fwee!

Kalim chuckled as Yuu—after letting the whistle fall to dangle on the lanyard around their neck—eagerly sipped their juice box and dug into the pudding with the biggest smile on their face. It was then that Kalim noticed everyone staring at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“...how…how did you know that’s what they wanted?” Deuce uttered.

“Huh? Because that’s what they were asking for,” Kalim said. “Didn’t you hear what they were saying?”

“What? How did you get that out of all those whistles?” Ace asked. “They didn’t even use words!”

Tilting his head in confusion, Kalim shrugged and said, “I guess I’m just used to it since I have so many siblings back home.” Reaching out to pat Yuu’s head, he said, “A few of my little brothers and sisters would sometimes talk to everyone with their toys or instruments. Haha, so I guess it’s just second nature for me!”

“...you can seriously understand what Yuu’s saying? With the whistle??” Grim asked.

“Yup! Is it that weird?”

The first years glanced at one another in shock and disbelief, Yuu oblivious to this revelation as they finished their dessert.

////Later////

Fweet! Fufu-fwee-fwoooo!

“I know right? Jamil’s cooking is the best! Thanks, Jamil~!”

Fwee-fwoo Fufwoo~!

“Um…you’re welcome,” Jamil responded, slithering over to set another tray of food between the two. “I have to say, this is…not what I expected.”

“I know right? Who would’ve thought that Kalim would’ve been the one who understands our lil’ Chickadee~!” Cater said, happily recording the two interact. Somehow, Kalim was able to carry on a conversation with Yuu and provide feedback, as though he wasn’t just listening to the sounds of a whistle.

“At least that makes one of us,” Grim uttered, munching on one of the meat buns that Jamil had brought. “Shoulda thought of this earlier! Then we wouldn’t haveta guess what Yuu wants.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t exactly solve the problem,” Jamil said quietly, the naga sitting back on his coils away from where Cater’s phone was pointing. “At some point we need to have a serious conversation with Yuu about that whistle, otherwise they may not speak to anyone again.”

“Ah jeez…you’ve got a point,” Cater said, stopping the recording and sighing. “As totes adorbs as this is, I do miss hearing their voice.”

“Hm? What was that, Yuu?” Kalim’s voice broke in, catching their attention.

Fwoo-fwee-fooo?

“Sure, we can play a game!” Kalim said excitedly, his tail wagging and wings quivering excitedly.

Yuu’s eyes shined as they eagerly turned to the others and began whistling at them. Fweeeee! Foo-fweet fwu-fweet? Phweeet!

“Oh…sure, you guys can play a game!” Cater said, a cheerful smile on his face.

…fwee?

Before he could respond or ask Kalim for a translation, the einfield turned to Yuu and said, “You know, I think they’d really like to join us if you asked them in your own voice.”

Fweet?

“Yeah! Everyone really misses hearing you talk to them, Yuu,” Kalim continued. “The whistle is fun and all, but it kinda hurts everyone’s ears when you use it, and that’s not very fun for them.” With a sad smile, he asked, “Don’t you miss being able to chat with them? Or when you get to tell stories to Lilia or Rook and how they tell you how much they love hearing what you have to say? Or even singing songs with Vil? I know everyone misses hearing you laugh too…don’t you wanna talk to everyone and have fun like before?”

Yuu looked contemplative for a moment, the whistle silent—much to everyone’s surprise. Then, to their shock, Yuu pulled the lanyard off and set the whistle down on the counter before turning to the others and asking, “Can we play together, please?”

“S-sure!” Cater said. “Whatever you wanna play, Chickadee!”

Beaming, Yuu raised their arms up and asked, “Upsies?”

“You got it~! Aaaand…we have liftoff~!!” Cater cheered, making a ‘whoosh’ sound as he hoisted Yuu up in the air. “Lookit you go! Soon you’ll be flying high like your big brother Cay-Cay~!”

“Yaaaay!!”

“Come on, let’s get the others!” he said, shifting Yuu onto his back as the toddler wrapped their arms around his neck. “We’ll meet you guys in the courtyard, okay? Hang on tight, Yuu! Whoosh~!”

The tiny human’s giggles and squeals of joy echoed down the hall, Cater’s wings partly open as he trotted with his passenger while Grim followed after them. With the three gone, Jamil picked up the whistle and said, “No one’s been able to get them to take this off since they got it. How did you know that would work?”

“Well, kids are smart, and Yuu’s a smart kid,” Kalim explained. “I just told them how everyone else has been feeling since I heard Cater mention he missed hearing them talk.” With a shrug, he added, “My brothers and sisters can understand things when my parents and I talk to them like they’re adults. They may not understand certain words sometimes, but they can still understand the concept of things better than we give them credit for, you know?”

Jamil blinked at him in response before he huffed, a small smile on his face. “Huh…well done,” he said. “Hopefully with this out of the way, we won’t have to worry about Yuu picking up some other noisy habit.”

“Oh! That reminds me, Lilia wanted to bring Yuu to the next Light Music Club and teach them how to play a musical instrument. I was thinking of showing them how to play the drums!”

“No.”

[stinkywinke]

Twelve Minutes

I am obsessed with twelve minutes sooo, why not make an imagine about it 🧍‍♀️

Also this is the first time I have ever used tumblr, and my grammar is very poor. I will try and get used to the way tumblr works and hopefully if I have any motivation I will start writing more :) My writing skills are bad so this is going to be choppy

Another note : The roles are reversed, so instead of the reader being the husband, its going the be the wife figuring everything.

clench ya butt cheeks

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

Readers POV:

No..no, no, no, this can’t be it

As I took a step into my apartment I heard my husband in the bathroom humming a soft tune. 10 minutes. The pills. The cop. The pocket watch.

“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in”

I looked up to see h/n (Husbands name) walking towards me with a smile and pulling me in to a passionate kiss.

“I made desert, let me know if your in the mood” He stated while making his way on to the couch.

I give a quick nod signaling that I would tell him when I was ready. Quickly glancing around my home I made my way to the sink and filled up a mug of water, the floorboards creaking in a specific spot as I ambled to the bathroom. I opened the medicine cabinet grabbing ahold of the sleeping pills and pouring them into the mug, and going back into the living room to see h/n reading a book.

"I think its a good time for desert” I suggested

“Ok, babe” h/n replied with a sweet smile

He noticed the cup in my hand and turned around to the fridge and got the desert out. I placed the drugged mug by where h/n was sitting and got my own mug instead.

“So how was work?”

“It was alright, met a couple of new people, Its going great” I said as I saw h/n drinking his water

“How about you? How was your day?”

“Same old day I guess it just repeats itself” he said as his eyes started drooping down into a sleepy matter

Tch.. talk about repeating

“Im feeling so tired all of a sudden, Im gonna go lay down”

“Okay baby, goodnight”

As soon as I saw h/n close the bedroom door I scampered to the closet and closed the door behind me aware that the cop will be here in a few minutes

Now we wait…

“Police!, open up I have a warrant”

My breathe hitched as I heard him turn the doorknob and stepped into the house

“Hello?, anyone home?”

“Police” the cop shouted when he opened the door

“Police, I have a warrant”

He made his final call making his way into the bedroom,hearing the light switch turn on a scream came from the man as he layed unconscious on the floor. After hearing nothing but silence I crept out the door into the room, searching for the valuables from the cops uniform

The gun, 2 handcuffs, the knife, and the phone

As I did last time,Rolling him over, gripping both of his wrists and tieing them together, I remembered there was a little box with my mothers name on it.

A/N : I did change the baby clothes to a necklace, kind of like a bday gift

My hand trembled to the gift lying on the table next to the flowers, I held it and stuffed the box into my front pocket. I took my time staring at the man in awe and confusion

He’s already told me why he’s here, he told me he was a good friend of my husband’s father. He’s hiding something.

“Augh- what- you little shit”

The cop was stirring awake from the electrocution but only figuring it all together that he was handcuffed. He glared at my shoes as some kind of threat and saying words, pleading to be let go, I reached into my pocket pulling out the box and showing the man the name on the necklace

“Do you recognise this name?”

“Dahlia? Yeah I knew her so what?”

“Do you know anything about her?”

“Yeah, she was the mother of your husbands sister”

Mother of my husband’s sister? But that was my mothers name

“Just let me go you prick”

“I promise im innocent I dont have anything to do with this”

“Okay maybe if you let me go, I wont kill you” the cop stated in a cold and tone

I took the knife out of my pocket and handed him his things, he asked…

“Im here for a pocket watch very valuable… do you have it?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get it now”

Thoughts were running in my head as I went to go to the bathroom to get the strange watch

Mother of my husbands sister? Dahlia, thats my mothers name… no it can’t be.

I grasped the pocket watch in my hand, watching is slowly turn clock-wise

“Have you found it yet? I dont have all day!”

My hand gave out to him, as he took the pocket watch

“Im gonna need a few minutes with your husband, go sit on the couch, but if you do anything stupid, I’ll kill you..” he demanded

He’s gonna kill him, I know, so lets just let it happen.

BANG!

A bead of sweat drip down my forehead as I smelled the scent of blood coming from the other room

Mothers name of husbands sister, husband said he got a necklace with my mothers name on it, Dahlia. So if dahlia is my mother h/n is my… brother. My own brother is my husband. Fuck no please, I have to get out

Sprinted across the room to the door and made my way out just to end up in the same place as always.

“No.. fuck no no no no- this can’t be happening please”

My husband came out of the bathroom again with a panic and worry on his face and started to bombard me with questions.

“Y/n?”

“Baby are you ok?”

“What happened honey?”

“Whats wrong?”

I’ve had enough

“S-STOP IT, GO AWAY”

“Baby whats wrong” he pleaded with concern

“NO! Please I have to go” I shouted at him as I bolted through the door coming back to the same gentle humming tune coming from the bathroom.

“Hey, I didnt hear you come in”

Again met with the same eyes with my lover ugh- brother, I cant tell him, I cant.

“Hey babe” I said as he kissed me once again,

this is wrong

“I made dessert, let me know if your in the mood”

The same sentence every ten minutes.

Snatching the pocket watch from the ventilation grid, the grunting and groaning leaving my mouth as I tried to get up from the pain in my back,

The watch was broken. Turning the long handle I fixed it back to its place, 2 minutes before 12. I saw the world turn into a dark abyss, the watch turning anti clock- wise, my hand slowly fading into the tiles of the bathroom, my eyes growing heavy and started to close putting me into a deep sleep

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

“Hey there he is… your back”

Huh?

“Look, I know this is a… terrible shock. But we need to be on the same page. Look, I… These feelings for my son… your brother. This isn’t how I wanted to tell you…you deserve… both of you deserve better.”

He said with a long pause

“Yknow the thing I hate the most, worst thing in the world?… Disappointing my lil boy. Well that was the worst thing…. And now a baby… you with your little… love… I guess it was always gonna happen”

He said as he walked around in disbelief and ignorance

“Nothing stays swallowed down forever. So, you gonna make a call”

“If i could go back..” I started

“Well. Things would be different. But you can’t just try again. Thats not how life works! So, you gotta make the choice, and make it now”

…

“Say something”

H/n’s book about zen..

“Fine!, your gonna force it by hand? Fine!”

“Hey “its only by forgetting that.. we ever really drop the thread of time, and approach the experience of living in the present moment””

“Ah, you’ve read that one, eh?”

“I know the idea of forgetting things sounds crazy but, what if… you could?

I can help with that if you want. All you have is the future, you’ll forget everything you went through. All the pain. All the stress. Forgotten forever. But, you need to understand there is no turning back. You can’t undo this… we can still talk about him but you need to choose an answer…”

I stared at the clock as I watch it about to turn twelve

“you don’t have to forget if you don’t want to, The choice is yours”

12:00

DING!

“ you do have a remarkable imagination… The stories you’ve created… but believing them so strongly, so deeply is unhealthy… you have to let him go… you can’t keep obsessing over him… sometimes things are just as what they are…

Its time for you to wake up…

[authenticaussie]

Romanticized ask meme!!! 5, 22, 30 🥳

These are actually so cute, you picked some really good ones!!!!! Thank you 🥰🥰🥰💕

5. what would you be a god/goddess of and what would people sacrifice to you?

Cringe and dorky romance plots because I tried to think of other things and it didn’t work sjkjdfk fff. I want people to dedicate first drafts to me! Sacrifice that first draft, filled with all the ideas you wanted to include but were too worried about, the more Terrible it is (in how much you love it - in how many cliches it delights in you) the better you curry favour.

22. tell us, in detail, about a curse a witch would put on you.

a curse...what’s it for tho (sob) like to inconvenience me? or to make me learn a lesson? actually now wait it’s fairy tale rules so learning a lesson probably, augh. Honestly I’ve actually written about this concept before for a competition piece, but, being cursed that the things you think and Want to say to people (ie. the things you swallow back because you don’t want to be a burden, or annoying, or seem terrible, even if it’s something to do with setting a personal boundary), get written on your skin. Cure would obviously be actually saying the things, but I literally hate the idea of it and also I wear tanktops a lot so it would be so annoying.

Alternatively, I think not being able to say ‘yes’ to things would also be a very interesting and. so incredibly annoying curse.

30. describe your ideal masquerade ball outfit (mask included).

ooooo ohohoho YES this is the best. I would totally run for a poufy 1950′s vibe or a princess silhouette, especially if it’s for a masquerade ahhhh. Pretty poofy skirt and the cut in at the waist! Gotta have that long skirt and pretty swishy everything.....I am.....hhhh so torn between colour and style tho bc like a sweetheart neckline would be so cute? But then also, a halter with a connected cape? ah?? (like this??? or this?) and SECOND like look at the vibes of these star!!!!!! dress!!! dresses or CAPE. BRUh. Like how could you not, right? but ALSO the flowers on this? So beautiful........AND ALSO JEWELLERY. CIRCLET

ALSO these shoes!

I daydream about dress designs..........I think like, god what about a dark sunset ombre with stars collected near the bottom? glittery! Or flower patterns in a rainbow like that one youtube dress designer? AH pretty! okay okay okay flowers for the circlet and the shoes, maybe with a princess silhoutte with a lift at the front??? so it is shorter at the front and longer at the bottom ahhh. Sweetheart neckline and sleeveless! AND then cape! and halter! for the sunset star glitter time. And star dress, I totally believe like star freckles and glitter? so cute? and I feel like a smaller mask with lots of silver filigree! And then go really over the top with the pink flower mask you know, throw in some colour

[skyward-floored]

Thanks Silver!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

43! Though a bunch are oneshot collections, and one is an anon fic.

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

484,235! Whew!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Legend of Zelda and linkeduniverse mostly these days.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Brethren in a cradle by far my most popular fic. Which still totally blows me away. How are there 952 kudos? On my fic that started as just a self-indulgent daydream?? Thank you so much guys???

Because they aren’t suffering enough in canon (linkeduniverse whumptober 2022) I’m surprised this is second, but I guess I shouldn’t be shocked, you people love whump XD

Accidental domestication which is mostly silly lu fics about wolves that ended up being multiple chapters and rather long. I still love the concept for all of these.

Troubled waters which was my first mermaid Legend fic and I could write wayyyy better now, but I’m pretty proud of it still. And wow I did not realize it was this popular XD

Always darkest before the dawn (linkeduniverse whumptober 2023) HOW DID THIS GET SO MANY KUDOS SO FAST these are only from November?? Wow.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! Unfortunately I tend to forget to actually do it, but I love answering them and talking to people. I love seeing what people think of my fics :D

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mm. That’s hard to say. Probably something whumptober-y..? I’m not thinking of anything particular, I tend to try for a hopeful ending mostly.

Oh... well the one anon fic I have had a SUPER angsty ending, but the second chapter is a little more hopeful. It’s still very angsty though.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably the skyward sword oneshot in courses of love. It’s so fluffy. So. fluffy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not unless you count rude spam bots!

9. Do you write smut?

No.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not really, no. Unless you count lu, and a few wips I have where I mix OCs around.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! Though if it counts, there might be a podfic in progress for one of them :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not exactly? I throw ideas around with people, Tellie especially, and we help each other out with stuff, but I don’t have anything that’s truly co-written I think.

14. What’s you’re all-time favorite ship?

Oh zelink, no question.

15. What’s the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don’t ever totally give up on wips, but there are a few I... do wonder if I’m ever actually going to finish. Mostly my longfics, they’re intimidating and then I scare myself out of working on them :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue? I’ve been told my dialogue is pretty solid.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oof, descriptions. And making sure I’m taking the time to show what a character is thinking, and TRANSITION SCEEEENES AUGH

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

That would be fun! I have an oc who speaks a little bit of another language, but I haven’t written much with him unfortunately.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ninjago! Well first published anyway. I scribbled some warrior cats fanfic when I was younger, but there’s only a page or two of that. Ninjago was the first fandom I actually posted fic for.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I gotta pick??? Good grief... some of those whumptobers... Stubborn... under the weather... hmmm “hero what ails you?” maybe? It actually got banned from ao3 for a bit you all should read it now that it’s back 👍

No pressure tags for: @adrift-in-thyme @telemna-hyelle @wolfwarden @only-lonely-stars @nancyheart11 @ anyone who would like to!

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @the-real-azalea-scroggs! Had to wait until I was of my phone because doing these is a nightmare on mobile lmao

1. How many works do you have on A03?

18 as of a few days ago!

2. What's your total A03 word count?

60,763! Which is. Only a fraction of the word count in my Docs folder. Be prepared.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write for The Legend of Zelda; specifically Linked Universe! In fact, that's all that's posted on my Ao3 currently, since my fall into that fandom began with me uploading there! Pre-Ao3 I wrote for Black Cat (Anime/Manga), Megaman NT Warrior, various Pokémon things, Assassin's Creed, Yugioh, Final Fantasy XIV and Octopath Traveler! Some of these I still write privately, but I haven't gotten around to re-posting any.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Whistling on Deaf Ears - My longest fic on Ao3, focusing on Wild and Twilight's friendship and how good intentions can lead to disaster.

Iconoclasm - Warriors deals with the room full of portraits in Cia's palace. The Chain also deals with it, but with a bit more fire.

Deserving - Twilight finally tells Rusl that he was the wolf in the village during TP, but that also means dealing with some heavier topics. Colin half overhears them and forms his own conclusions.

Something Greater - The start of the "Hyrule can see magical auras" series! In this one we deal with Legend and his many rings.

Ocean Magic - Mermaid Legend and Zora Time have a race and then fight one of the Big Octos from WW! Fun times.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Every single one!! I love comments, they give me an excuse to ramble about my fic more!! I am always down to ramble about every single insignificant detail of any line and/or section. If you ever want more background info about one of my fics, look to the comments! So please, I adore comments, I treat them like treasures, not responding to them would be a CRIME.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

There's no contest; Inevitable, my (so far) only MCD fic.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmmm, that's hard to quantify. I usually try to end fics on a hopeful note regardless. I'd say possibly either Deserving, where Twilight reconnects with his family, or Shimmering Blue, Striking White, where Time meets the Fierce Deity settled down on Satori Mountain and they both get closure.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no! I've been blessed with mostly amazing and patient readers, even when my upload schedule isn't the best.

9. Do you write smut?

No, not really. I've attempted it, but I'm too asexual for it lol

10. Do you write crossovers?

Very, very rarely. Mostly privately, and only very specific ones. Only a single one has had an actual plot, so far (more on that one in question 15!).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also a nope! I tend to write for smaller fandoms, where these things don't tend to happen a lot!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! But it's been a while. Over a decade, in fact! I tried to find the fic to link it here, but it was on the German fanfic website fanfiktion.de, and my friend who posted it back then must have deactivated her account, because it's nowhere to be seen (I still have the Word file though!). It was a Multi-Crossover that started as an RP in a forum, and we took turns turning the RP into prose one chapter each. "If a Hero Turns to Dark" was its title. We were edgy teenagers.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Hissssss. Bad question. Shoo. They are all equally important!! But it's probably TenRose from Doctor Who.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

One of the very few crossovers I've ever worked on; a crossover fic between Assassin's Creed and Doctor Who, that I have mapped out in both chronological and timeline order, and yes, those are different. I only ever wrote about a quarter of it, since my primary audience of it disappeared when we graduated. I doubt I'll ever pick it back up properly, and if I do it'll probably go through heavy rewrites first since it's so old. Finishing it is a nice thought, but realistically, after 9 years it'll never be high priority enough for it to actually happen.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, especially arguments, and emotional impact. I've been told I do really well making characters feel alive and believable! Also I like to believe I'm decent at setting a scene and giving it the vibe I want it to have!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with dialogue tags when nothing much is happening besides the talking. I always feel it's too bland, and fall back on the same phrases. My scene transitions could use some work too.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've done this with Japanese phrases, because I was a massive weeb. Usually I followed them up with their own translations, though; I'm not the biggest fan of footnote translations, unless they are properly linked to. Simple dialogue tags are my favourite way of indicating a language switch.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Black Cat the Manga/Anime! It's a series about an assassin turned bounty hunter trying to live a life separate from his murdery past, but getting dragged back into things by still wanting to avenge his best friend's death. The series has a special place in my heart and my bookshelf, it left an imprint on 13-year-old me that will never leave.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Probably Jailbreak, uncharacteristically enough! It's one of the only fics I never got stuck in once. Writing it was a great feeling from start to finish. I love writing all of my fics, but that was a special few days.

Tagging @ahrva @nowhere-to-go-but-down @silvercaptain24 and @aeghina! And anyone who wants to do it, really, go wild