#I wonder if I can dig out my old art from this game

[foxtrottcantfindshit]

My interest took a hard left, all the way back to when I was a teenager and this game came out in 2016!!!

Still one of my top favorite games of all time I’m almost sure this is #1 or #2 and of course, my favorite was Noct

[artdcnaldson]

thinking about pre engagement art at his first olympics. you’re doing coverage for a mag back home on some player from your hometown. but art. beautiful fucking art who you run into the morning of your first day and who you convince to come to your hotel so he can get away from the rickety little twin beds at the village. butter him up with a drink. only one, won’t hurt his game. you talk and talk you god you wish your story could be about him instead. and he stays the night in the hotel with you and is gone when you wake up but he’s left an official statement on his wonderful teammate, hometown guy, for your story that will make your boss happy. when you get home after your story star gets knocked in the round of 16 there’s flowers and your hotel has been paid off until the final. he wants to go to dinner after he wins gold and take polaroids of you w nothing but his medal on.

if u have room for 🫐 anon, i will keep homeostasis w my zweiginator emoji anon

Omg hi sorry I sat on this so long <333 RAHHHH pre engagement pretty angel curls art playing tennis at the Olympics makes me feel SO CRAZY

EEEEEP using your press pass to get access to all of his matches, even though you really should get home. Art’s dominating the court— effortless and beautiful. You’re there when he wins the gold medal match against an older, seasoned player, and he’s so gracious to the player’s face, to the press.

“It was a tough match,” he says into a microphone as you stand close by, thankful for the press badge around your neck. “I’m just lucky to get the chance to play with one of the greats.”

He smiles, charming and victorious when they take photos of him with his medal. The American flag in the background and him, the spitting image of homegrown, good old fashioned athletic talent.

The dinner is nice, fancier than you’re used to on a journalist’s budget. He’s just got a new sponsorship with Nike, so they pay for a lot. He buys a nice bottle of wine and bashfully admits he doesn’t know a lot about what makes it nice, other than the price tag. It’s charming, it’s sweet.

Sitting across from him at the table, you know he’s got less than innocent intentions for the night. Just three days ago, he had you sinking down on his cock, riding him hard and fast and crying out his name like it was a form of worship.

“Do you want to see the medal?” He asks once you’ve finished dessert.

You forget the question by the time you’re in his room in the Olympic village, when he’s mouth is on yours and his hands are ripping at your clothes. The bed is soft, plush beneath you as he drops you onto it, laid bare and wanting. You part your legs invitingly, wordlessly begging for him to strip off the rest of his clothes and bury himself inside of you.

You’d even let him do it raw— a present for his gold medal win.

But he disappears, digging in his suitcase until he retrieves the medal from within. Orange and red ribbon and a big gold medal at the center. Before you can say anything, he’s slipped it around your neck, so the gold is nestled between your breasts.

“Pretty,” he muses, fingers circling the cold medal where it rests. “Can I take a picture?”

“Yeah,” you answer quickly. He could’ve suggested anything, really, and you would’ve said yes. He was just so beautiful, so charming. You wanted to please him more than anything.

He pulls out a digital camera and powers it on. It whirrs softly as he zooms in, then snaps a photo of the medal resting between your tits. “Pose for me,” he says, but he has another idea already. His hands move up, sliding from your hip, up your abdomen, until it cups your breast in one large palm. He snaps another photo, smiling behind the camera.

“You’re so fucking hot,” he muses. He nudges your thighs apart and toys with your clit, just on the good side of teasing. Slow, insistent circles that make you grow even wetter, even needier. He zooms out, takes a full body shot (because he’ll die before he forgets this pussy) and tosses the camera to the side.

He hikes your legs over his shoulders and buries his face between your thighs— mouthing hungrily at your cunt. His tongue laves over your center, lapping at the wetness that had been steadily leaking from your cunt since dinner. He moans against you, as he nuzzles his nose against your clit to get closer and closer. “Taste so good—“ his words are mostly muffled against you, as he licks and sucks on your pussy, face shiny with slick and spit.

You cum easily, your body responding to his touches so openly. Like it’s his toy to use. He smiles up at you as you pant and tremble, cunt fluttering with aftershocks. He kisses your thigh gently, reverently.

It’s not long before he’s sinking into you. Your pussy so soft and warm and wet for him, sucking him in, aching for something to fill that empty spot inside. You whine and gasp as he nudges against your cervix, buried deep, finding home there.

“That’s it,” he hums as you instinctively wrap your legs around his waist. “Pull me in deeper. Just like that.”

His pace is slow, his thrusts deep. You feel so close to him as he boxes you in, arms on either side of your head, fucking you like he’s making love. When he leans down and kisses you, it feels like heaven, which seems appropriate for a boy who looks like an angel.

[cutpaperbleedswater]

In the mirror is the reflection of a dead man walking

He’s rushing around looking for that one item his daughter just has to have in her bag. A simple dark green bag with dandelions he painted himself, branding her indirectly as theirs. This time the formerly mentioned item is a hair brush. 

“Daad, I know I don’t have curly hair like you but I did inherit the thickness, it’s going to be windy today, I need my hair brush.” 

So now she’s probably stood by the door, tapping her foot in the floor, arms crossed, waiting for him, because the walk upstairs would ‘ruin her shoes’. 

Though anyone who has ever met him couldn’t even lie saying he’s a quiet walker, he manages to acquire the hairbrush from her room without disturbing the shadows that flee at the slightest movement. He carefully twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, with precision owed to his art. 

When he arrives back downstairs, he holds out the hairbrush and his daughter flies into him, wrapping her arms around him, initiating a hug he returns before lightly tapping her shoulder to say it’s time to go. Katniss smiles at him and kisses him on the cheek before herding their children out of the door, leaving him alone, like every morning. He dreams of the day both his son and daughter are old enough to walk themselves so he can have just that bit more time with Katniss. 

Sighing, he begins his loud pursuit up the stairs with the intention of perhaps having a shower, grabbing his clothes from their bedroom. He steps into their en-suite and promptly stumbles back. Looking back at him is a man dead and gone a good 25 years ago at the very least.

Frantic blue eyes whiz back and forth across the mirror, he watched the pupils bounce backward and forward until his head starts to spin. He frantically looks up to his hair, a slightly darker blonde, with looser curls that only add to the image of his father. The kindness and vibrancy in his eyes, the well rounded jaw-line, soft face. Even to him, his neck is the same. Then a blink.  This time he does fall back. His father. He is the carbon copy of a dead man. Overtime the initial boyness of his appearance has been chipped away, revealing someone he likes to think looks more stable. In his childhood he remembers the comments everyone made about the Mellark boys’ strong genes, he felt proud, happy to feel included, but now he just feels despair. Only one of those four are alive and that’s him, the one who still marvels about how he still breathes. He remembers people saying him and his older, but not oldest, brother could pull off being twins. And then the very rare old person stopping him in the street to say he looked exactly like his father at whatever age it was. Now no one needs to tell him (the ones that would anyway are nearly all dead) that. At the sight, despair pools in his lungs, coating his insides with it. 

After years, going on decades, he finally wonders if his father would be proud of the person his son is. He likes to think he would; he continues the legacy of being a generous tradesman, his kindness still digs under peoples skin, he doesn’t normally let out frustration by means of violence on anything other than kneading the dough a bit aggressively. He’s an active figure in his children’s lives, they can trust him. He’s finally broken free from the chains of his trauma that held him down, he fought his battles head on. For that, he hopes his father would be proud. He hopes they all would be. Bar his mother, who was anything but in the sense of caring for and nurturing him. 

He shuffles against the door, knees pulled up to his chest, hands in hair, tugging at the greasy curls. Who’s he kidding? Surely not himself. What is there for his father to be proud of? What is left of the son he sent off to the Games? The son turned insane just for doing what’s right. The son who tried to kill his beloved. The son who had lost control of himself at one of the most crucial times.  That’s where Katniss finds him. Small handfuls of his straw blonde hair sat around him. She doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t need to, only pulls him close to her and begins massaging his hands. Tricking them into letting go. She watches the tears flow down his face and her heart pangs but she knows he’ll be okay in a few. He always is. Always.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: May 2023

If you notice I haven’t read as much this month, it��s because I got the new Zelda game. But between my vanquishing of evil I still managed to fit in some other media! Here’s how I spent the month of May.

……….FILM……….

BlackBerry (2023) Having grown up in Waterloo Region I didn’t have any interest in seeing a retelling of the story I mostly knew but this was really great! Surprisingly funny and frenetic and a truly unhinged (in the best way) performance from Glenn Howerton. Good stuff.

John Mulaney: Baby J (2023) I naively thought “I wonder how much this’ll touch on the drug stuff?”... turns out it’s all about the drug stuff. Cool that he was talking about it so openly, and made it so funny, but I wonder if there was more material that got cut? He briefly mentions a trip with his son and I would’ve loved to hear more about that. Anyway as a comedy special it’s really great.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) You know I haven’t been interested in the last few Marvel movies but this one felt like it was going to be different..and it was! So many moving parts but I never had trouble keeping track of character motivations or story beats and the whole thing was really beautiful. I mean even the really gross stuff was fun to watch. Keen to go back and watch this as a trilogy down the road.

The Suicide Squad (2021) I was excited to see Guardians of the Galaxy so at the start of the month I rewatched this. Still impressed at how this can be equal parts a gross out dick joke movie and also built on a foundation of community and family. Builds well, nothing feels repetitive, and the finale doesn’t overstay its welcome. Really great stuff.

……….TELEVISION……….

The Bear (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) Never have I felt so stressed watching television. Really captivating episodes and I’m very excited to watch more.

Ted Lasso (Episode 3.08 to 3.10) Maybe it’s the time away from season 1 and 2, or maybe something happened behind the scenes, but season 3 feels different. Some eps really hit, and even some moments within those other episodes, but it all feels rather unfocused. Maybe it’ll stick the landing but my confidence has been shaken.

The Most Hated Man on the Internet (Episode 1.01 to 1.03) Perfectly paced. Just enough detail to get invested but after 3 eps it felt like I experienced the full journey. Really interested to see the public’s perception of revenge porn shift over time and I can only assume this website (and its founder) played a part in that.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Down the Off-Grid Rabbit Hole... by Maggie Mae Fish Love simultaneously learning about a corner of the internet and also how it’s exploiting others. Just wild. VIDEO

Why so many people need glasses now by Vox Turns out kids need to spend more time outside for legit biological reasons? Who knew. VIDEO

How Nintendo Solved Zelda's Open World Problem by Game Maker’s Toolkit Hey maybe you’ve been playing the new Zelda and if you have, you’ll find this interesting. I sure did. VIDEO

……….READING……….

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt (Page 165 of 500) The first time I read this, it really helped me understand the perspective some folks take on divisive topics. There was a sort of comfort to finally seeing what they’re seeing. In rereading this, I find myself getting angered while reading. The book is over 10 years old and while still relevant, it often feels quaint when talking about the widening gap between political parties. Its neutrality feels almost naive to me? Maybe I’ve forgotten a key chapter that helps.

The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (It doesn’t have page numbers...maybe 1/3 of the way through) Murder in old hollywood is just so cool. I’m really digging this so far and the art, characters, and pacing feel thoroughly natural. Every reveal is just so casual cause to these characters, it’s just their lives, and I love that. Big fan so far.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 8 by by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, and more (Complete) I always liked the smaller stories in this volume that focused on Peter’s personal life...like break-ups and dating other superheroes and stuff. But for some reason the Jean DeWolff/Kingpin/Moon Knight stuff always just felt kinda rushed? I dunno maybe I like everything to be a little more fantastical or suuuuuuper mundane. None of this in-between shenanigans. Give me highschool or give me death.

……….GAMING……….

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo) So good. I walked past a house that was redoing their driveway and had a bunch of construction stuff covered in a tarp and I immediately thought “hmm I wonder what I could build” and that...is the sign that I’ve played this game too much. Big fan 10/10 change nothing.

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Mof1 Crew did some downtime planning ahead of a heist/attack combo that worked out pretty well! We played out events in weeks instead of in real time (for both the players and their enemies) and it worked pretty well!

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The group is still navigating a rival adventuring party on the island and seeing what happens now that they’ve let their star-collecting duties slip. Big trouble. You can read about it here.

Anyway that’s it. See you in June!

[kausatstolar]

1-10

Okay, technically sovstuck's been out for a little while, but i've been thinking about it, and figured I may as well preserve my thoughts somewhere than the sovstuck discord. [shout out to you guys fr]! May as well use this blog for something. The prologue can go above the cut.. But the rest of it, not so much. Without further ado, our story begins.

The year is 5023

Not much going on with the text, so it's time to take a nice hard look at the panel! I think it's so fascinating how the planets from the beta kids' session make up this solar system, alongside earth, which-- Once again, appears to be the third planet from the sun. Which.. Is the light symbol. Could be artistic choice, could be literal. Either way, this is a gorgeous piece of art.

The place, Earth C. More colloquially known as AFTERRA.

Afterra... That's fun. Keeps up with naming conventions. Not much to say about this, other than the fact I can't help but notice the second moon...

13 years ago the OLD GODS came back to this world, 5,000 years after its birth, to much fanfare and to much dismay.

Huh. 10 years unaccounted for. S'probably nothing! This is a fun panel to look at, and it's also very fun to see that building's roof resemble one of the can city structures from homestuck proper.

But this story isn't about the Old Gods. And this story isn't about THE CONSTRUCTION, either, nor a new form of it.

points. hey who's that incredibly handsome carapacian in the foreground... [retris's dad!!] once again, this is beautiful to look at. neo kyoto... I haven't yet commented on it, but I love the texture of the prologue panels. Very edible. while The Construction piques my curiosity, this isn't that story.

No, this is a story about a boy, his friends, and a game they play together.

YEAHHHHH RONTIS... His house looks so nice. Goodbye paper texture. Not much to say, but I'm sure excited.

This is a story about you.

WOO. Not much to analyze about the text that's present, but plenty of panel to dig into. it's nice to see him so comfy.. However, his room is a smidge of a disaster. Peeping the 3ds, sure, but also... His clipboard, monster energy, and papers scattered everywhere. Shout out to the aspect wheel by his head, too.

There's a gif of retris at the computer, but it's a smidge too big. Behold page seven on your own. It's just damn pleasant to watch, seeing everyone's signs bounce so pleasingly.. Wait. What's with the iron cancer sign matched with the pieces sign. Hm. I'm sure we'll get there. I also like how the blue of SVURP's spirograph is an exact compliment of SBURB's spirograph.

Your name is RETRIS MORAGE, and you are tired. It's been a long and treacherous 18 MOVES since your OPENING, and 18 minutes since you've woken up from an incredibly long nap that you didn't mean to take. Whoops.

god i envy this very sleepy retris. It is currently 7 pm sharp on a wednesday, and I wish to rest. Not much to note as far as the art of the panel goes for this page! MOVES and OPENING... Chess terms. fun. Wonder if the whole of afterra uses these names, or if it's predominantly carapacian areas only.

The sunlight pours through your windows, unfettered. You take a moment to survey your various possessions as your brain wakes up. The gears of your mind groaned to life as you remembered yourself.

Hey! He's got a portrait of his parents on his nightstand. How sweet of him! And.. Monster energy cans everywhere. Lovely EVA merch too. On the note of the prose, I do quite enjoy it! Smth about the poetry of, "the gears of your mind groaned to life as you remembered yourself" sticks in the mind...

You, like everyone, have a variety of HOBBIES and INTERESTS. Among these are SWORDPLAY, WORDPLAY, and FOREPLAY. Don't think about the last one too hard. Don't think about that phrasing too hard, either. Get your mind out of the gutter. You have an ardent passion for ASTROLOGY and the science of MYTHOLOGICAL ROLES. You run a rather sizeable CHUMBLR blog dedicated to the subject. You wish you didn't. You know in your heart that you are a MAGE OF LIGHT, and are looking forwards to getting this proven to you. Sooner rather than later, hopefully. You're getting ahead of yourself, though.

Helluvah set-up he's got in his room, as far as his computer goes. mars on the back of his computer.. Very fun. Well kept room, aside from the cans and papers.

However, uh. Retris. Retris, what the hell do you mean you're gonna get your status as a mage of light proven to you. Swordplay, wordplay, foreplay.. I guess I'll have to pay a bit more attention to his phrasing, i suppose. Er. Not about the foreplay, let him layabout as it pleases him. Wordplay, however. Curious that Mythological Roles are a science, and that he's gotten too deep into running a tumblr blog about it. Surely that won't come back.

I'll get through the rest of the comic later; i've got things to do. Fascinating to see how it's begun, though. I can't wait to see where this's gonna go.

[subzeroparade]

💌 📡🕯️for the ask game please!

Also might I just say that I love your designs for the Byrgenwerth crew and Laurence, Ludwig, and Micolash in particular??? Your drawing style is absolutely fantastic :D

Thanks for the ask!

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

So turns out there’s two candle emojis on this list??? I’m going to choose this one because the answer to the other one is just no and no because I love writing and I’m a meticulous planner lmao. 

I’m pretty low-key irl so engaging with folks over art and writing in fandom in ideal for me. I’m not the type to be vocal on a discord server but I love the time consecrated to looking at other people’s works, indulging in their headcanons, etc. I’m also old enough to know how to curate my own internet experience, and so have never had to deal with any unpleasant fandom drama (10/10 would recommend).

I would like to be better at leaving comments, especially on AO3, where there are some excellent works that are just woefully under-appreciated (probably because of AO3’s more general audience). I’d like to be better at engaging with those works to show my appreciation. 

📡why is writing and sharing your writing important for fandom?

I think it can double as dialogue and creative exchange - so more than just a healthy indulgence. Everyone is chasing that feeling of “ugh this piece of art makes me feel all the things” and I want to try give as much as I get in return.  

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

I have no major working WIPs right now worth sharing tbh, so I took this earlier today as a little prompt/spontaneous writing exercise and extracted a bit from Litanies for 2k words worth of an “extra” scene. 

Title: Foxglove Rating: G Characters: Gehrman & Laurence Wordcount: 2k

Gehrman returns home to find Laurence digging through the dirt.

This will only really make sense for those who've read Litanies. It's extracted from this excerpt, in Gehrman's chapter:

I remember watching from afar, years ago, when he’d been the only soul willing to confirm a theory about the lake at the edge of Byrgenwerth’s grounds. The Prospectors had come across a veritable trove of seals that year, and Willem had begun to wonder if there weren’t perhaps hidden access points to the tombs obscured by the lake itself. No one knew how long the lake had been there or how exactly it had formed. The possibility that flooded passages to burial sites deep in the caves might be discovered and seized upon was suddenly at the forefront of our collective obsession. 

With all the bravado of a modest man with a death wish, he’d volunteered to go below. The scholars had outfitted him head to toe in watertight canvas and rubber, crowned by the diving suit’s great, bobbing head like a primitive carved idol with its single, staring eye. He’d spent twenty minutes walking along the lake bottom, getting as far as the cables allowed. When he re-emerged the scholars had crowded around him excitedly, given him no room to squeeze out of the suit and barely enough room to breathe. Once the glass and steel shell had been pried off his head, he’d only shrugged and told them solemnly that there was, "Nothing but silt, I’m afraid, and bulbous-faced fish with gaping mouths and silly stares, handsomer than the lot of you gawking at me now."

Only one scholar had laughed at that, a glint of copper in the sun. 

I enjoyed the concept so much I ran with a scene from the night before.

Foxglove

Gehrman returns home to find Laurence digging through the dirt.

Home is a generous word for what it is: four walls, some wood and some stone. A hearth in need of sweeping. A table with three working legs and a dubious fourth one. A bed, soft enough for his needs, softer than the hard stone floors of the labyrinths below Byrgenwerth. Outside, a sad little square of soil that doubles as a vegetable patch, where desperate, hardy things occasionally grow. Pails hung by the windows to collect rainwater. A stream for bathing, cluttered by cattails and hidden by high rushes and, past it, the path to the workshops, hard floors he’s made his bed on plenty of nights before. He’d like to sleep in his own bed, tonight. But first he needs to tend to the scholar rooting through his makeshift garden.

He walks up to the door and unlatches it. An old habit, the latch - useless here, deep in the forested paths of the academy grounds. It opens with a groan of protest.  

“I’ll be done in a moment,” comes the voice from the soil patch. Low, distracted, the sound travelling from a face that hasn’t looked up. 

Gehrman lays his overcoat across the back of one of two wooden chairs, pulled close to the hearth. He lights it, slowly, feeding it thin, dry logs at first; then any other detritus still lingering in his four square walls that he can afford to give up. Bones, most often, or scraps of parchment. A garment too worn to repair, or the nettle that grows insistently over the back windows of the little homestead. It reeks of something sharp and brackish when it burns. 

The floors are covered in the pelts of things he’s hunted on the outskirts of the grounds - beavers, mostly, though a fox or two and even a sable marten, which he’d used to make trimmings on Maria’s gloves and hat late last winter. A single wolf pelt is lain out by the fire - a beast separated from its pack, driven mad as much by starvation as by solitude. On an amber autumn night it had tried to take a student, and met its end in the muzzle of Gehrman’s pistol. He’d managed to save everything but its head. He does the tanning in the workshops to avoid the overwhelming stink from settling in his cottage for good.

Instead, the claustrophobic space smells like his little assortment of vices - poppy resin and tobacco, mainly; with notes of a bright, floral gin, which he’d been told was odourless but was certainly not. It tastes like red peppercorns and berries, with a hint of copper, laced with regret. 

He takes his pipe and tobacco pouch and steps outside into the fading light. Rounding the side of the cottage he treads across verdant, mossy things that release fragrant evidence of their decay. A few mushrooms pop their smooth, capped heads alluringly from the soil, a flash of white like bare flesh against black robes. Not edible, Maria had told him once. Not if you want to see tomorrow. He’d laughed, and she’d looked at him strangely. Gallows humour, he came to learn, made little sense to her.

Sidling up beside Laurence, he watches the last of the afternoon’s fading light travel down the scholar’s back. The anatomist’s knees are planted squarely in the dirt, legs folded under him. His sleeves are rolled up, white cuffs stained around the edges, and his suspenders hanging loosely in the dirt around his waist. He’s left his robes hanging by the door, in the same place where Gehrman hangs the nets of nettle and flax for catching fish in the generous stream nearby. He’s long since ceased trying to weave or patch them himself; not since Laurence began to do it for him with the quick, deft fingers of a surgeon used to sewing more than just plant fibres.

Laurence cuts and gathers the leaves and stems with the kind of methodical boredom of a practised hand. Not for the first time Gehrman wants to chase off the other man, to berate him for laying claim to what isn’t his, a clever little wild animal always rooting around for something more. Always taking, this creature of appetite.

Instead he knocks old cinders from his pipe and pats down the fresh mixture before charring the top. The tobacco is sweet, the quality fair - a rare indulgence he’s allowed himself. He doesn’t mind the telltale bitterness of poppy resin laced through it, the way it settles in his mouth after each breath. The hiss of the match fills the silence between them. He takes a few sips before speaking. 

“Does Maria know you’re here?”

He watches Laurence place the leaves meticulously in the square of his neckerchief, laid out in the dirt beside him. The red silk, wet at the edges, gleams like a pomegranate.

“No. I’ll thank her for these later.”

Gehrman does little for the soil patch himself. Maria cultivates it, when she comes around: her own private garden, her own little research supply. When Laurence comes he only takes from it, as he does with everything else around him. And Gehrman, patient as the white cliffs whittled away by the sea over aeons, does not stop him. 

He tamps the tobacco and relights the pipe. When he exhales, the smoke curls invitingly into the darkening air. “I’ve decided I’ll do it.”

Laurence stops and looks up at him. The soil under his fingernails hides the ever-present ink stains.

“The suit looks steady enough,” Gehrman continues, under the weight of his gaze.“Watertight, the scholars told me, and reinforced with canvas. The helmet can withstand pressure much greater than the lake’s bottom.” 

“I know,” Laurence replies, turning back to the dirt. He lays marigold across the silk neckerchief. “I checked with the scholars myself.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

“Because I don’t trust it.” He tucks a strand of hair behind his ears with dirty fingers. “It’s a thing made by men. It’s fallible.”

Gehrman coughs through a smile. “But you trust the blades I sharpen in the workshop to keep you alive.”

Laurence brushes soil from a long, spindly valerian root. “A blade can kill a monster. It can’t defend against a lake.”

“No one else will go below.”

The scholar shrugs. “I’m sure they can find another fool with a death wish.”

 “Would you go?” Gehrman allows himself to press, chewing absentmindedly on the end of his pipe. “You want to know, don’t you? If there are more passages down there. Hidden ways into the tombs.”

Laurence opens his mouth, then closes it. Gehrman studies his expression, familiar enough after so many years of companionship. There’s something watchful about it - not animal wariness, but a sort of jaded watchfulness that speaks to a hurried, instinctive rush to action, held in check by the burden of consequence. He gathers some chickweed leaves gently in both hands and places them to the side before leaning back on his heels.

“I tried to talk Willem out of it, you know. But he wouldn’t hear me.” Something drifts languidly between them, long and iridescent, like a dragonfly. “Truthfully, I can’t understand why he still searches for seals. It’s been years. Eventually we will need to do something with the labyrinth relics. We’ve a cabinet of curiosities from the depths and very little practical research to show for it.”

“This will double my wages for the month,” Gehrman blurts. 

“A great consolation when you’re dead, I’m sure.”

Keep the garden in my absence, he wants to retort, but he doesn’t have the stomach for it now. The tombs took his father, and the tombs will take him. What use in pretending otherwise?

Laurence shifts on his knees, looks up at him through the last muted rays of daylight. Silently Gehrman refills the oil in the lantern that hangs from the roof’s shallow awning. The warm light ignites the copper in the scholar’s hair. 

Laurence plunges his hands back into the dirt, gaze focused on the vivid, bell-like blossoms of foxglove. “Who’s to accompany me on labyrinth expeditions, if you’re gone? Maria? She would push me down a well if no one were looking.”

“She would,” Gehrman concedes, his smile weary at the edges. “But you handled yourself well enough with a torch last time, if memory serves.”

Laurence scoffs at that, a disgruntled sound that matches his expression. They’d been separated for the first time, Gehrman remembers; someone had failed to leave the proper markers and they’d circled back, lost in the gloom, torches burning low. Gehrman had heard the scholars cry out in the same heartbeat he heard the bell - that malign silver sound he dreads on every descent. When he’d finally found them in the blackness they were at the mercy of a rat, all teeth and sinew and madness in its mouth - and Laurence, waving a torch with the kind of dogged indignation of a man who rebukes the reaper because he’s otherwise occupied.  

“Well enough that I almost set fire to the lot of us.” Laurence grabs a fistful of his own hair as if to make his point, cut just below his jaw, shorter than Gehrman ever remembers seeing it. 

“Aye.” The nauseating reek of burnt hair had made the rest of the blackened tunnels smell almost agreeable. 

He inhales deeply, tries to keep the taste of resin on his tongue. The foxglove blossoms look soft and inviting enough to caress in the pleasant glow. Laurence begins to fold the scarlet neckerchief on itself, carefully making sure not to crush the little trove of leaves and stems, delicate as vellum. Then, like an afterthought, he plucks a few leaves of mint and slips them into his sleeve.  

“Twenty minutes,” Gehrman says into the quiet hum of twilight. “Enough time to see what’s down there. No more.” 

Laurence looks at him with all the frankness of a fist to the face. “More than enough time to drown.”

Gehrman ignores this. “He’s looking for a Great One, isn’t he? Willem, I mean. Weren’t you the one to tell me water is a channel through which to commune?”

“It’s only a theory.” Laurence pulls his suspenders back over his shoulders and gathers the little bundle of silk in one hand. He extends the other to Gehrman. “And I sincerely doubt you’ll find a Great One waiting for you at the bottom of the lake.” 

Gehrman takes his hand and pulls the smaller man to his feet. “What if I do? I’ve heard it said the gods are merciful, if you can get their attention. Sympathetic, or suchlike, to our dull little existence.”

“Gods help me, Gehrman, do you believe every fanciful thing scholars tell you?” 

Gehrman’s chuckle rolls from his throat in thick puffs of smoke. “Only the ones I hear from you.” He lets go of Laurence and removes his hat, brushes the wild tufts of hair back from his cheeks and forehead, then puts the hat back on. “Will you come in and have a drink to my last night on earth?”

He watches Laurence chew the edge of a mint leaf thoughtfully. He turns away to spit the leftovers, then wipes the flecks of green from his mouth. His fingers linger over his lips. 

“Can I talk you out of it?”

“No, silver tongue. You can let me smoke my pipe in blessed silence." Laurence flashes a smile. The tight one, the one that shows his chagrin at the corners. Then he reaches into his trouser pockets and pulls out two coins. Gehrman catches their surface only faintly in the dim firelight. Old Yharnam silvers, from the looks of them. 

Without a word, Laurence takes Gehrman’s hand, lays the coins in his palm and closes his fingers. His expression doesn’t change. 

“If something happens, I won’t be the one to bury you.”

Gehrman makes his own face very still so that Laurence will not see the bitterness there. But Laurence only ever sees what he wants to see.

“And if you don’t drown, you can use them to buy something other than that vile gin you insist on serving me.” 

Gehrman dims the lantern and lets the night air chase the spectre of death from his face. 

“Come inside.” 

[charlieslowartsies]

Would you mind giving me a director’s commentary on Finding Freddy? I was curious why you didn’t like that one as much.

I know I've mentioned it in passing before but yeh sure. It's a personal tale tho, not much fun haha

Finding Freddy was a strange beast for me. I went into it wanting to pull the story away from being centered around Mike and the OG 4, wanting to explore the world thru the kga lens better. I shoved the timeline 9 years.

Okay. I brought in Danny, since he was the logical choice of who Mike would trust and who I thought me and the readers would enjoy. I brought in Springtrap as a good guy, separating him from William Afton while still making it clear that wasn't going to last long, but that Springy was someone we should sympathize or even empathize with. I wanted a story of fear of the unknown.

Ghost Strings was about loss and grief. Finding Freddy was going to be about finding oneself in the darkness and being afraid of what's inside you, but also what's behind you too.

And a finger on the monkey's paw curled lmao.

At the same time, in my real life, I was in the process of moving from my childhood home. I'd lived there for about 25 years, and though old and spooky and occasionally grouchy it was a wonderful house for a kid. The joint was full of nooks, crannies, two basements, (respectively titled the Old Basement and the New Basement, despite New Basement being 25 years old in 1993 when I came along, that was just it's name by then.) It had ghosts in every corner, stairs that creaked in unison on dark nights, about 2 dozen mice and it was safe and warm and familiar to me as my own bones.

For those that know the stories well, you can see where the restaurant's descriptions came from, especially in the opening of Finding Freddy.

Well, I wrote myself right into a corner, uncertain where I wanted Danny and Mike's future to head. Danny died in a few renditions. Mike died in others. Killing them off seemed like surrendering something I didn't want to give. I stalled out on the story. We moved into our new build around June 2017, FF had begun in Feb of that year. My golden Joey died around April, he was older and it was a relief because we worried the move would stress him out. Herbie, my graduation gift in 2015, filled out and completed his training and took a lot of my spare time that art wasn't getting.

Standing in my empty room the day I dropped the keys off, which had not been empty since...forever...it ended up leaving a deeper wound that I refused to address. I called myself silly, sentimental, I shrugged. I was being stupid.

It found a way out, though, because our troubles always do.

FF languished in the word doc. I started BATIM/Make Believe around then. The FNAF games weren't as fun for me as they used to be. I loved the new house, I was so so grateful that my folks gave me the second floor of our cape cod. I cooked with my mom in a big, new kitchen with appliances that worked and breakers that didn't trip. I took care of my father and his health issues. I explored the acres of woods we moved onto.

My rabbit I had through college died the following March. Hiccup. Old time readers know that Bonnie's loyal and sometimes snotty personality came directly from Hiccup.

I subbed for my mom's school, and Hiccup died one day before I started a two month job. I wanted out of it for the first few days, I wanted time to grieve. I wasn't given it. I didn't ask, my mom refused me. "You made a promise to work there. You made a commitment."

I didn't fight her. She was right. It was just a silly pet rabbit. The world shouldn't stop for me, for something trivial. I had no energy to do free lance work, and less energy to write for a fic I couldn't enjoy.

Turns out, living with Hiccup for so many years meant I slept to his background presence. His lil bunny sounds, monching hay and digging about in his cage and cannonballing my bed in the morning to greet me.

His ambience was gone, and for 3 months I got about 3-4 hours of sleep a night until I realized the problem.

FF started to rot. Another Five Nights was tended to, sometimes. More fics worked on. FF ignored. I felt so bad. I felt tired, angry, annoyed. I missed Mike. I felt I was writing Danny all wrong. I missed the Marionette. I wondered if I had taken Springtrap from the plot too early. I questioned Afton's motives. I questioned my motives.

I missed my childhood home. I missed college. I missed going to classes and having tons of work and dreaming of being an illustrator and getting paid to do what I loved. I missed having a life for myself.

Danny was trapped in the underground. I was trapped up on the third floor, feeling like Rapunzel in her tower. (When will my life begin?)

Danny became that mouthpiece for me. If nothing else, I learned more what Danny Fitzgerald wanted, even if I didn't show it until later stories.

Finally, finally, I pulled my shit together and updated the fic. 2020. Not as long as I've let other stories sit in purgatory, but for some reason with KGA it felt more personal to me. It hurt more. I was pretty pleased with myself for pushing onward. I had concurred this dragon, I was proud of myself.

And then I got a review that asked why I had taken 2 years to update. Nothing else in that comment.

I also received other kinder comments too, but in that one moment I remember sitting there and thinking 'wow, okay. Why am I bothering with this again? Why is this hobby draining me and why am I letting it?' All I saw was the negative in that situation, which was wrong of me.

It was a lesson I needed to learn. Write for yourself. Write what you want. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

I was able to justify bringing Marion back when I saw Lefty in Pizza Sim. I was able to bring in Mangle and explain Mike's survival because she protected him. Springtrap and Afton were given an escape so they could go ahead and set up plot for Last Shift. (And then in Lies Within, too.) The Michael Afton/Michael Schmidt theory was yanked until I had two Michael's to work with. Hiccup was further immortalized into Scraptrap. Max Afton was so much fun to create and write.

But Finding Freddy never quite lived up to my expectations.

I never lived up to my expectations for the story. It was a lot of things that culminated in me carrying a grudge for the fic.

I don't really carry it heavy as I used to, time heals all wounds. But it's the problem child of the series for me. London Bridge is old and the gang wasn't realized. I could excuse LB not being a good read, but at the time I liked writing it. Devil's Spine was fun, but perhaps shouldn't have been a prequel. That was okay, because it set a lot of building blocks. And DS lead to Ghost Strings, which I loved working on.

FF I didn't like writing, and nothing excuses it. It became a chore and I felt forced to write.

But the one thing I do like about it, is that I did finish it. And that did feel good.

[residentdormouse]

Hey, hi! You are on my BINGO card (like last year haha) and I was wondering if you could tell me literally whatever you can muster about Hayden and/or Stephanie (what they did before the world went to shit, their interests, hobbies, their personality, style, quotes, lyrics, colors relating to them, etc.)

Thank you so much and also eternally thankful to you for all the comments you left on Save a Prayer - I saw them and they made me really happy ❤

Hey there 👋 (and I'm still eternally grateful for last year; that gif makes me so rediculously happy.)

Most information on the 'Jumping to Wonderland' series can be found on this main post - questions/asks/playlists are towards the bottom. Granted, most of that is for Hayden (she has a full 101k story to herself before Steph and my others OCs really join in with Diving.) The best segments for her are: General History and Interview Questions.

But that's a lot of nonsense to dig through. More consise answers:

Hayden (Hadley) Flynn

Hadley worked for an organization that was constructed to help protect against supernatural elements. At first, her role was in experimental expeditions, and assisting in dimensional travel. When conflicting agendas were discovered within the, now redubbed, 'Institute', Hadley moved to a first line public safety position which better situated herself to help peaceful individuals. Shortly after, disturbances outside of their universe were picked up by her old department, and Hadley was tasked with investigating. Unfortunately, as they had found from prior missions, there was a barrier between their worlds and her knowledge was barred from her upon entry, along with most of her memories. With no recollection of her past, she could only stumble into this new world, picking up the name Hayden from one of her first companions - Stu Redman.

Hayden is naturally curious, and loves learning, but she is also a fan of the arts and relaxation. Especially relaxation. Good stories are essential. Comfy blankets, fluffy pillows, warms drinks, fires. As somebody with a higher anxiety level than others, she struggles to find a calm sometimes, and has been known to study breathing techniques and coping methods (some of a potentially questionable variety). Mediation also helps aid with setting up and maintaining an easily accessable mind library, which is a necessity for travelling. She is also an animal lover, which helps establish a light tone for her first interaction with Kojak, and in turn, Glen.

Teal is a color that is significant to her, and attached to a mental key of sorts. Her full playlist is here, although 'Smile' by Wolf Alice and 'Underworld' by Cyprss are go-tos for her. Style is more about comfort and practicality. Sweaters, jeans, sometimes a blazer for 'nicer' occasions. Layers and heavy coats are a must as she usually runs cold.

Stephanie Graham

Steph served as the 'tech guru' for her community. Working on the IT department of the hospital was primary, but she also set up her family and their friends. No, you can't just use the browser that comes with. That's your password?! Is that phone from this century? While she had her job, and was very close with her family, a good deal of her free time was spent in her apartment. A safe haven full of adopted house plants and stock piles of games. Video games, board games, multitudes of 20 sided dice. Her desk was a shrine to her fandoms and online activity. Does she have a Tumblr? Maybe, but she likes your shoelaces. Does she read fanfiction? C'mon that's not taboo anymore, right? It was a comfortable life. A manageable life. Until everybody started coughing...

Anxiety is also something that Steph suffers with, although that partly stems from her untreated ADHD. It is not uncommon to see her fixating, or obsessing over little things, and excitedly babbling on about something. There are many topics that she cannot be normal about, and expect her to really get 'in it'. Words coming out faster than they have any business being, and still not fast enough for her thoughts. This also happens when self consciousness kicks in too. Catch her appologizing for appologizing, and she appologize once more. For good measure.

Much like Hayden, Steph's color is in the green category. But while Hayden's is more of a jewel tone, Steph's is a reflection of her plants, and leans towards more of a forest shade. Her playlist is here, but her main song (and the original song I used when developing her) is 'Life is Short' by Bufferfly Boucher. Style is also a comfort concern for her. Flannels and t-shirts with jeans and chucks. Nothing fancy, she wouldn't know where to begin with any of that.

[grimmywrites]

10 Things About Me

I was tagged by the talented @patiently-burning. I’m happy to welcome you to the Ghostsoap brainrot, especially with @valiants amazing art. My favorite Ghostsoap artist! Their work makes me feral; I’d kill for them -- or at least write for them. Below for random facts about me!

1.) I double majored in Archaeology and Creative Writing in college. I idolized Lara Croft and Indiana Jones and then, luckily, fell in love with the *actual* science of archaeology and Roman history so I’ve managed to stick with it. 2.) I’ve lived on and off in Italy (semesters where I taught abroad) since 2017; and a couple times before that for my own study abroad program and archaeological digs/dives. 3.) I’m a runner! I usually run an hour, but sometimes I run up to 9 miles a morning not only to stay in shape but as meditation. I listen to audiobooks while I do it!

4.) I worked as a dog bather for a couple years to get money to go to grad school and then in a dog ‘boutique’ because I love dogs so much. I love all animals, dogs just happen to be my favorite.

5.) I’m a huge Resident Evil fan. I’ve been playing the games since they first came out (I was a little kid and had no clue what I was doing lol). I can literally rant on and on about the lore and timeline; og re4 and re2 are the best but I love the remakes and all the new fans!

6.) I’ve been published for scholarly writing, but it’s my dream to write fiction, primarily historical fiction.

7.) I’m an oddball who likes nerdy things *and* sports - I played varsity softball in high school and I’m still on an adult co rec team!

8.) I stopped writing fanfiction for a couple years while working on my thesis for grad school. I started writing again for Nellis because I reread some of my old stuff and wondered why I ever stopped with these characters. Writing them feels like slipping on my most comfortable shoes or a favorite shirt. After I read that stuff I got metaphorically slapped upside the head with the idea for Retread (the ending in particular)... and let’s just say it’s grown a lot from what I had envisioned; but I’m a gardener writer, so that makes sense.

9.) Besides RE, my favorite game in the world is an obscure RPG called Shadow Hearts. It’s a Lovecraftian horror game set in China and Europe just before WW1 breaks out - it deals with horror, the occult, and some zany characters. I cry every time I play it and its sequel (Shadow Hearts: Covenant). Most people like the second game better, but I find the first one to be creepier, have better music, and the characters are more interesting. The sequel IS a good game, though.

10.) I secretly wish I had more time! I often feel guilty because I’m more of a writer in fandom than a reader because I’m so busy with life smacking me every which way. I also wish I could output more, but alas, we can only do our best, right?

Thanks so much for tagging me! I’m not apologizing for the love of Soap or Ghost. That was a well written campaign! I’m going to tag more than one person: @peculiarreality-main and @ohlookapan!

[mainsfolder]

The sims medieval latest patch

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH DRIVERS

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH PATCH

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH REGISTRATION

If you want to save your saved games, make sure you remove them from your Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims Medieval folder before uninstalling. Home Gaming Best Medieval Games with Knights (2021 Update) Some.

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH REGISTRATION

Digital registration codes don't need to be entered upon installation, as it is through Origin, but should you need them later, they're located in the game information through your game library (small icon next to game launch button). ideas about sims 2, sims, medieval D Kingdom Come Deliverance Knights no longer.

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH PATCH

I would recommend a fresh reinstall of the game, and make sure you patch directly through the launcher rather than downloading the patch elsewhere. Is your copy an Origin download or a physical CD copy? I have the physical base game and the digital P&N xpac. Before letting out all of your bad feelings toward development team, do not forget to go to the.

THE SIMS MEDIEVAL LATEST PATCH DRIVERS

I also play Medieval, but I haven't run into this problem. Be sure to update your graphics card drivers and other software. Mirrors can be found on AtomicGamer, Gamers Hell, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. The mirror/bathroom issue in the throne room this was also a common problem for laptop users. This will update the game to the version 1.2 The security wall building placement issue where reaching level 7+ caused a big wall to come in crashing a ton of laptop users. I know what you mean about the Medieval forums being somewhat useless EA has pretty much abandoned the game. A new patch is now available for The Sims Medieval, updating the new installment in the lifestyle simulation series to version 1.1.10. The Sims Medieval/Patch 2 is the second patch for The Sims Medieval. So I had an issues like this, after hours digging around I found out something with. They may give you a new key so you can download it, providing you still have the invoice and the key Klewboss Posts: 58 Member. But it still doesnt work The patch cant be install, it says that my application version is not the right one (still my Origin account has the last version of it) Can you help me. December 20 - New patch for The Sims 4 on PC/MAC available now Patch notes here. Just taking a shot in the dark that you might respond! Hello everyone I just bought the Sims medieval and try to fix it with all the patch I found in this topic. I am very curious to find out if you fixed your problem as I can't find a lot of info on this particular issue. New quest: Crab Bandit, in which a crab monster living below the kingdom can be turned into a. New quest: Contents: Genie, in which the player can decide to free a genie in a bottle or to use its power. It updated the game with a large amount of content and bug fixes, causing it to be met with a positive reception. for The Sims 4, 3, 2 and Medieval Ive also done a long over-due update of. I am wondering of you found a fix? I am asking on the Sims Medieval boards but they are moving really slowly these days. Patch 1.1 is the first patch for The Sims Medieval, released on March 22, 2011. A new site that features daily updates with the newest sims 3 hairstyles is. I just came back to the Sims Medieval after a long break and am running into this problem. I do not mean to bring back such an old thread but I too am having this EXACT same problem.

[doodlesfromthebird]

Hi, Canary! It's really nice to see you back. You've been one of my favorite internet artists since I found your work a few years ago, and I really admire your sense of character and costume design! I found you through KH, but I've since fallen in love with your original characters and story ideas, which are lovely. I was wondering if you had any advice for someone hoping to develop their own original characters and worlds. I've been trying to for a few years, but it still feels pretty daunting.

Hello!! Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I'm so glad! ^u^ I absolutely can give some pointers!

Here's a little guide with a few methods I've used to creating characters and developing the world they live in. I'm by no means a writer of any kind (I rarely create stories, and struggle with plot) but I am passionate about developing funky little dudes who live in your brain.

Designing a Character - Make a list. I somewhat recently compiled a document full of design elements, tropes, personality types, aesthetics I generally really liked to help build a small cast of characters I knew I’d have fun designing for. Think about your favorite characters in media and what you like about them! It could be a great jumping point to creating an OC you’re passionate about. That goes for relationship dynamics, too! 

Grab a handful of things from that list, 5 or 6 maybe, and there ya go!

- Make a moodboard. I’ve used this method to create characters based on A VIBE and building off that.

I’ve even figured out personalities just based on the “aesthetic text” I found associated with a color. Part of Cherri’s backstory and personality came forth simply because I kept finding Marina lyrics in pink. - Try using online dress up games! I used to use Dolldivine all the time to get creative. -  In addition to mood boarding, pinterest can also be a good resource for design inspiration with official concept art for movies/games and assets of those sort of dress-up games readily available. CocoPPa is a good example! [Let’s please respect the wishes of individual artists and either give credit when posting for inspiration or respect their wishes if they state not to repost their work at all.]  - In depth character creators in video games! Or simple ones! I’ve built up such an affection for even a few of my stardew valley farmers with their own personal bits of lore, they could probably be stand alone characters separate from the game at this point. Sometimes developing a character from an established setting can be a good base. Dig some of your old fan characters out of the closet, even!

Get to know your character

Getting to know your OC is one of my favorite parts of the process, and is something I find really important if you want to get attached to them. And you should!! The more these guys are on your brain, the more you start asking questions about them, and the more bigger details start to fall into place. - Go broad. Say you have the base concept of a character with their situation, their goal in life, their goal in the present moment, and the past/future that will effect them. What lies do they believe as truth? How has their childhood effected their habits and views? What's one secret they keep to no one but themselves? Who are the most influential people in their past and in their day to day life? - Go detailed. They're practically a roommate living rent free in your mind, so think about what a day in their life is like. Observe how they do small things. What are they eating for breakfast? How do they carry themselves when they walk? Nervous habits? What are they wearing to go to get quinoa from trader joes??? Detail what a few hours of what it'd be like to observe them, doing what they do every day and how they'd do it. - Give them an interview. Here's a blank bio sheet with a detailed list of questions that could be fun to fill out at your leisure! A lot of good questions to chew on. - Or quite literally give them an interview. Pretend they're sat down to answer some questions and think about how multiple characters would answer the same question. Do they overshare? Are they curt and to the point? Do they frequently lie and contradict themselves? What questions take them off guard? - Write about your own experiences. Giving characters traits and experiences you can speak from in a detailed  can really flesh them out as people and gives them that relatability. Even if they’re decidedly different from you as a whole, there’s that point of connection that anchors them to you.

Worldbuilding...ish

Developing a world is a little less easy for me to give advice on, as I’m very character oriented, so my worldbuilding is more of starting with the bigger picture and then filling in details that would affect the character directly, while some other things aren’t as fleshed out and water tight. (I’m working on it!) Some universes have more to them than others simply due to how much time I’ve spent with them over the years. But it’s important, a lot of fun, and gives all the more weight to the universe you’re developing.

- Research. If you’re like me and either have no writing experience or have difficulty pulling key world-building aspects from imagination, there’s a PLETHORA of resources to learn from, a lot of it free and on youtube, even. Make yourself a playlist, grab a notepad and sit yourself down to gather info, and map things out. If you’re, say, creating a country from scratch, look into places with a similar climate and how it affects what species live there. I’ve been researching dining etiquette and shipbuilding lately! It would be of great help to learn from writers as well, if you aren’t one yourself. There's A Lot of advice out there. - Ask cause and effect questions. I create a lot for the fantasy genre, so I get to ask questions like...”What does a world being shaped by the gods/guardians look like? How has their presence influenced the mortals they look after? Their culture, their customs, the way they communicate?  What’s the actual truth of ancient happenings and what has been passed down through a long, long game of telephone? What is the truth current day people believe about magic, technology and historical events? What kind of questions could you ask from the world you’re creating? -Appease your inner child. Think back on what captured your attention as a kid and how you experienced them through your eyes at the time. What sort of things did you feel experiencing your favorite games, movies or books that you can still tap into through a nostalgic lens? I feel incredibly attached to my The Spiral OC universe when I’m playing Legend of Zelda games, especially Wind Waker. The mood, the sense of adventure. The feeling of sailing the seas, the quietness of Windfall at night, the reverent silence when arriving at Hyrule frozen in time.  Those feelings have lent an atmosphere to the world I’d go on to create for myself, and still illicit a strong emotional response when I visualize aspects of it. the adventure, the monsters, the sweet and emotional tone, and the heaviness of ancient legend lost to time. - Immerse yourself in other people’s worlds. Get into a tabletop game podcast of your preferred genre! You’ve got high fantasy dnd, but there’s also plenty of sci-fi, modern fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and more. Listening to multiple people work together to build their world (sometimes as they go a long!) can really get that creative juice a-flowing.  Critical Role and The Adventure Zone are big ones, but I also recommend SkyJacks, Friends at the Table, Dimension 20, Dungeons and Daddies and JemJammer! Worldbuilding prompts/generators!  X X X I hope ANY of this was helpful, I’m happy to answer specific questions as well. 

[fallen-gravity]

Truth or Dare

“Are you kidding? I love truth or dare!!” Molly beams. “I can never convince anyone to play with me!” She excitedly claps, but after a brief moment passes she freezes in her tracks, tilting her head at him in confusion. “But…wait, how’s that any different from just asking questions we could just dodge the answers to?

The smirk on Scratch’s face just grows even wider. “That’s where I come in, dearest Molly” he bows to her sarcastically. “This won’t just be any ordinary game of truth or dare. I’m gonna put a temporary curse on us while we play so we can’t dodge any questions or refuse any embarrassing dares”

“Oooh!” Molly jumps to her feet. “That’s perfect! Do it!” she points enthusiastically in his direction. “Do it! Do it! I’m ready!”

Notes: 

This fic is dedicated to all of my wonderful friends over at the Mollycord discord server!! I love all the silly temporary curses and other little aus we come up with, and the truth or dare one remains to be my favorite, so you just know I had to cave and write a piece for it.

Enjoy four thousand words of these two being unapologetically the closest besties you've ever seen ;3

AO3

For all intents and purposes, let the record show that this was all Molly’s idea.

Sure, okay, maybe Scratch agreed to play along at the promise of pizza and ice cream. But if anyone asks, this whole two-person slumber party thing was all Molly’s idea. Nevermind the fact that he’s wearing a facial and letting her apply nail polish to the approximate area on his hands where his fingernails would be. This is torture. Yep. He’s doing her a favor, really. 

“Aaaand…there!” Molly exclaims. “I’m all done, you can look now”

Scratch takes one of the cucumber slices off of his eyes and cautiously pops it into his mouth to avoid the sensation of wet nail polish touching his tongue. He frantically waves his hand around to try and help dry it faster, and holds his hand out at just the right angle where he can look at his nails and Molly’s beaming face at the same time. 

“Well?” she bounces up and down. “What do you think?” 

The base color of the polish is such a dark purple that he’d almost think it were black, and there’s tiny blue and white dots delicately sprinkled on top as if to mimic a starry night sky. Each individual finger has its own unique pattern of stars, and knowing how Molly is with going over the top on these sorts of things, it wouldn’t surprise him in the least if it turned out that altogether they made a real constellation that represents friendship, or something like that. 

“I gotta say, I’m impressed, Molls” he replies, and smirks when the beaming smile on her face only grows brighter. “You weren’t kidding when you said you knew your way around the art of the manicure”

Molly giggles at that, a tiny smirk spreading to her face as well. “N’aww, you~” she jabs him in the side, and if not for his wet nails he most definitely would’ve smacked her hand away. “I’ve just had plenty of practice! Darryl used to let me practice on him all the time when we were younger before Mom caught us stealing from her stash and hiding them away from us, but now that I’m old enough to have my own allowance I can go out and buy my own secret stash!” 

Scratch snorts. “Like you have anything to hide, McGee.” He points an accusatory finger in her direction. “You have the innocence of a sleeping newborn kitten”

She gasps in mock offense. “How dare you,” she hisses, but the goofy grin on her face ruins the image of her fake anger. “I have plenty to hide from you!” She says, and as if to prove her point she digs under her bed until she finds the miniature shoe box she keeps her makeup in and shoves the nail polish back inside. She then joins him on her bed, slinging an arm around him in a side hug. “We may be besties for all eternity, but there’s still plenty that you don’t know about me. Maybe you never will!”

“Oho!” Scratch places a hand to his own chest in mock offense. “Is that a challenge, Molly McGee?”

Molly shrugs nonchalantly, but there’s a huge smirk on her face. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Why?” A mischievous glint sparkles in her eyes. “Are you afraid you don’t know me as much as you think you do?” 

“Afraid? Hah!” Scratch exclaims, pointing a finger towards the sky. “Surely you know me better than that, Molls. Nothing scares me”

Molly snorts at that comment in a very we-both-know-that’s-not-true sort of manner. 

Scratch huffs in fond annoyance. “You don’t believe me?” He rubs his hands together, the bed beginning to warp and twist around them. “Then how’s about we make things interesting?”

“D’aww, it’s cute that you still think your spooky voice is gonna work on me” she gives him a few pats on the back, and the room around them instantly returns to normal. “What are you thinking?” 

“Hmm…” Scratch taps at his nonexistent chin, dragging out his response for as long as he possibly can just for dramatic effect. He glances around the room to look for some sort of idea on how he could prove to her just how great a friend he is, knowing all there is to know about her, and the mischievous grin returns easily to his face when his eyes fall to her friendship handbook on the bedside table opened to the “OPTIMAL SLUMBER PARTY GAMES” page.

“How about…”he redirects his shit-eating grin towards her, “...truth or dare?” 

For a fraction of a second, Scratch can see Molly’s eyes dart towards the handbook, but before he has time to question it she squeals so loudly that it surprises him that her window didn’t shatter at the sound of it. 

“Are you kidding? I love truth or dare!!” she beams. “I can never convince anyone to play with me!” She excitedly claps, but after a brief moment passes she freezes in her tracks, tilting her head at him in confusion. “But…wait, how’s that any different from just asking questions I can just dodge the answer to?” 

The smirk on Scratch’s face just grows even wider. “That’s where I come in, dearest Molly” he bows to her sarcastically. “This won’t just be any ordinary game of truth or dare. I’m gonna put a temporary curse on us while we play so you can’t dodge any questions or refuse any embarrassing dares”

“Oooh!” Molly jumps to her feet. “That’s perfect! Do it!” she points enthusiastically in his direction. “Do it! Do it! I’m ready!” 

She really does make it hard to seem all intimidating and scary when she’s smiling at him like that. Forcing himself to shove down the smile forming on his own face, he clears his throat, gently grabs Molly’s wrists, and begins;

“UNTIL WE DECLARE THIS GAME IS THROUGH

WE MUST SPEAK NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

AND IN THE CASE WE’RE GIVEN DARES

EACH SINGLE ONE WE HAVE TO DO”

The room returns to normal, and just as she always is after she’s been cursed by a ghost, there’s a massive grin on Molly’s face. “Test if it works! Test if it works!” she claps, jumping up and down in place.

“Alright,” Scratch crosses his arms over his chest, trying to forget just how contagious Molly’s happiness can be sometimes. “Truth or dare?” 

“Hah! Easy. I pick dare” She crosses her arms to mirror his stance, a smirk spreading to her face. 

“Smart,” Scratch squints at her. “…But fine. I dare you to…” 

This time the pause that follows genuinely is so Scratch can put some careful thought into his response. He’d hate to dare her to do something potentially dangerous or life-threatening, especially in the hypothetical case that the curse backfired badly enough that they wouldn’t be able to stop doing the dare once they’ve started.

He shudders at the thought. 

Okay. Something stupid. Something potentially embarrassing. 

Something safe. 

“...do a headstand on your bed for…fifteen seconds straight” 

“Pssh, is that the best you’ve-” Molly begins, but she’s abruptly cut off by a bright pink glow encasing her entire body. As if she’s no longer in control of her body, she shuffles awkwardly onto her bed and stumbles around until she’s standing on her head. The pink glow encasing her reminds Scratch a bit of the same glow that surrounds him whenever she summons him from afar, but before he can put too much thought into that the glow disappears and she flops backwards into her pillow with a startled yelp. For the briefest of moments she just lays there in silence staring up at the ceiling, and Scratch is almost afraid that he broke her, but then she bolts upright with a giant smile on her face. 

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced!” Molly yells, and she’s right back to repeatedly jabbing him in the side like she didn’t just temporarily have her free will ripped away from her. “Your turn, your turn! Truth or dare?”

Scratch can’t help the smile tugging at his face at her enthusiasm. “Alright, McGee, but you’re gonna have a pretty hard time getting any sensitive information out of me.” He crosses his arms and sticks his tongue out at her. “Dare.”

“Oh corn, and I had such a great question for you, too” she pouts dramatically, and pauses to take a look around her room. “Aha!” she exclaims, pointing to the empty ice cream pints strewn around the entrance of his offering house. “I dare you to go get us some more ice cream!” 

Scratch snorts. “Ice cream? C’mon, Mol, I was probably going to go get more soon anyw-” he starts, but before he can finish he’s suddenly encased in the same pink hue that had just overtaken Molly moments prior. Between one blink and the next, he feels a powerful force yanking him down through the floor of Molly’s room with a startled yelp. Scratch squeezes his eyes closed to avoid watching the rest of the rooms of the McGee household blur past him as he’s tugged god knows where, and only opens them once he comes to a complete stop and realizes that…he’s freezing cold.

Wherever he is, there’s scattered boxes of frozen dinners and ice cube trays everywhere, and…

…Oh. It’s just the freezer. 

Scratch shoves aside the small stack of frozen pizzas and boxes of popsicles until he finds the last two pints of ice cream that had been shoved to the back corner to hide them from, well…him. He places the two pints under his arms, and stretches his hands out of the freezer and into the cupboard to grab a couple of spoons, and the moment he does he’s surrounded by a pink glow and yanked upwards to Molly’s room again. 

“Oh, thank corn,” Molly wheezes in relief when he appears in her room again, a hand placed to her chest. “I was afraid that since I didn’t clarify that we still had some in the freezer that you were gonna be sent all the way to the grocery store in Mewline, or something” 

“It’s a truth or dare curse, Molls, not a genie granting wishes” he smirks, and pops the cover off of the pint of Moose Tracks before handing it to Molly. “Speaking of truth or dare, though,” he pauses to pop open the pint of Rocky Road ice cream for himself, “it’s your turn”

“Mmm!” she hums through a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “Dare!” 

Scratch squints, jabbing his own spoon in her direction. “You know you’re gonna succumb to picking truth sometime tonight, don’t you? You can’t keep this up all night”

“Hehe, yes I can” she giggles, shoveling another bite of ice cream into her mouth. “I’ll say it again. Dare”

Okay, knowing how incredibly stubborn Molly can get, she’s probably not that far off from telling the truth. If he wants to get even a smidgen of dirt out of her then he’s gonna have to start playing dirty himself; if he wants Molly to play truth, Scratch realizes, he’s gonna have to scare her out of playing another dare. 

“Alright, McGee, you think you’re so clever? Then I dare you to go into Darryl’s room, open up Heidi’s cage, and pet her for…three seconds” 

Molly chokes, and her spoon falls from her hand to her bedroom floor. “Oh…oh no no no, Scratch, we both know I can’t-”

“Up up up!” Scratch interrupts her. “You remember what we agreed on. Either we tell a truth or we have to complete a dare.”

As if on cue, the bright pink hue surrounds Molly again, and her eyes go the widest Scratch has ever seen them. Against her own will she stands to her feet, and as she stumbles past him on the way to the hatch door leading out of her room she whispers a panicked “I hate you” in his direction. She stumbles down the stairs with the grace of a baby deer, and though Scratch stays put instead of following her because he’s quite frankly terrified of Heidi himself, he can vaguely make out the vague sound of Molly whimpering and squeaking as she opens the cage to say hello. 

And just as quickly as she left, Scratch hears the sound of her booking it down the hallway and up the ladder steps to her own room. Her face is the palest he’s ever seen on anyone, and that’s including all of the little kids from that one birthday on last month’s scare report. Her eyes look kind of hazy, like she’s about to pass out, and there’s a part of Scratch deep down that almost feels kinda bad that he asked her to do such a thing. She flops face first into the pillow on her bed, and for a moment Scratch is afraid she actually did pass out, but she speaks up before Scratch even has time to do a panicked check on her pulse.

“Okay,” she wheezes between gasps of air as the color returns to her face. “I see your point.”  She sighs, and briefly closes her eyes as she slowly sits back up. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”

…Yeah, okay, he also knows that Molly isn’t above petty revenge. If he chooses dare this round, he wouldn’t be surprised in the least if she managed to come up with something much, much worse, like daring him to hold Heidi and let her crawl around on his arm for thirty seconds, or forcing him to go volunteer at the senior center and help give them baths, or something like that. He shudders equally hard at either thought. 

“...Truth” 

Molly’s eyes shine like stars when he chooses that option, and suddenly he fears that more than any petty little dare she could’ve come up with for him to do.  If his heart still worked properly, it’d be beating out of his chest for sure. 

“Eeee, I’ve been waiting for you to pick truth all night!” She squeals, clapping and bouncing in place. 

…Okay, yeah, he’s terrified. Never in his entire afterlife did Scratch think he’d ever find a smile this adorable so petrifying. 

“You ready? Here comes the truth bomb” she mischievously rubs her hands together, a perfect mirror of the gesture he’d done to her earlier. “Scratch…” she begins, grabbing him where his shoulders should be and forcing him to look her in the eyes. “I know you like to pretend you’re all grumpy and grouchy and not really care about anyone, but...I gotta know, underneath all of that…” she pauses, her beaming smile only growing wider and wider by the second. “What do you really think of me? What are ol’ Scratchy’s thoughts on widdle ol’ Molly McGee?”

….Oh no.

Of all the possible questions in the world that she could’ve asked, that is by far the scariest one she could’ve chosen. It’s not like he secretly hates her, or anything, so it’s not like he’s afraid of hurting her feelings. Far, far from it. The honest truth is that he’s come to think of her as the family he’s never had, but he just knows that if she ever finds out then she’ll never let him hear the end of it, and she’ll spend the rest of his days calling him Scratch McGee, or something equally cheesy along those--

Wait.

His mouth is moving.

His mouth is moving and he’s talking out loud and he wasn’t even aware of it.

“You? Molly McGee?” his traitorous mouth is saying, and there’s nothing he wants to do more than to curl up under the sheets of his little bed in his little house and just hide away from it all. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I act all grumpy and dismissive because I haven’t completely come to terms with it myself, but…I love you more than anything else in the whole world, Mol. I love you more than I love myself. You’re the sister I never had, and….the sister I never knew I needed.”

If he could still blush, Scratch is sure his entire face would be on fire. He’s almost sure his entire face is on fire, he’s that embarrassed. He covers his face in his hands, not wanting to look Molly in the eyes. All of those things are the complete and utter truth, because it’s not like he could ever even come up with anything so saccharine as a joke to mess with her even if he wanted to. N-not that he would want to anyway, because he’d never joke about something like that, he’d never wave his very real desire to feel wanted and loved and part of a family again in front of his own face like that, not when he’s so afraid of the no, of the scoff or the glare or the back turned in his direction at even humoring the idea of inserting himself into that picture. And sure, maybe he could find comfort in knowing that Molly’s not like the rest, she would never turn him away, but she’s always just referred to him as her best friend, the same way she refers to Libby, and he’s never once heard her say that she considers Libby part of-

His own spiral of panicked thoughts is abruptly interrupted by the sound of Molly sniffling. 

Oh no, he hadn’t continued on his self-deprecating spiel out loud, did he?  It didn’t seem like he said any of that awful stuff about himself out loud, but on the off chance that he did, and he went and dumped all of that on her shoulders right after he just told her that he loved her, he’d feel awful. He opens his mouth to apologize to her for being such a mess, but she speaks up before he has time to get a single word out.

“...Sister?”

It’s a hushed whisper, jam-packed with all of the emotion of someone who’s about to start bawling, but also with all of the wonder of someone who sounds as if they just received the best news of their life. Scratch finally finds the strength to pull his hands from his face to look at her. There are already tears rolling down her cheeks from her alarmingly wet eyes, and she’s just looking at him with the softest, sweetest smile he’s ever seen in either of his lifetimes.

“You…you think of me as your sister?” 

“W-Well, yeah!” Scratch stammers, immeasurably grateful he has control over his own words again. “B-because you annoy me like one! A-and you’re always invading my personal space, no matter how much I tell you to leave me alone! It’s…It’s an insult, really, I-” 

He’s trying, he really is, but the more he rambles and the more walls he tries putting up, the bigger Molly’s smile gets. Curse her and her ability to see past all of them. 

She giggles as she wipes at her eyes with her wrist. “You know, I could’ve just settled for you’re my best friend,” she tries to quip, but her voice wobbles and there are new tears in her eyes before she can even finish her sentence. 

“Yeah, well, you’re that too” Scratch crosses his arms over his chest. “Happy?” 

That just makes Molly spiral into a fit of giggles, but between all of that she manages a nod of her head. 

…Speaking of best friends, though…

“Alright, McGee, don’t forget that it’s your turn. Truth or dare?” 

“Truth,” she answers quickly, wiping at her eyes once more for good measure.

Perfect. Just the response he was hoping for. “On the topic of best friends,” he begins, clasping his hands together and smiling mischievously. “What do you really think of me? I know you love wearing your heart on your sleeve, but I see you parading that best friend label around to all of your friends, and I’m finding it hard to believe you don’t secretly value me above all the rest”

“Oh!” Molly’s face lights up, which is not at all the reaction Scratch was expecting from her having to choose between which of her friends she likes the most. “That’s easy! You’re…you’re like an older brother to me, Scratch. I know I’ve already got Darryl as my younger brother, and that you and I haven’t been cursed together for all that long, but…” she rubs shyly at her arm. “...I’ve always secretly wished I had an older sibling to show me the way, and...it already kind of feels like you’ve been a fellow McGee my entire life. I can’t picture the McGee family without you in it, Scratch. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have the honor of having you in my life.”

…

…Oh. 

…Okay, Scratch wasn’t expecting that kind of answer at all.

His traitorous face is reacting before he has time to think of a cover-up. His breath is hitching uncontrollably, and before he has the time to hide his face away in his hands again, he can already feel tears rolling down his face.

“Awww, Scraaaatch~!” Molly coos, and pulls him into a hug. “It’s okay!” She cheers. “You can let it out, buddy, I’m right here”

For some reason that choice of phrasing just has Scratch spiraling even harder, and he finds himself trembling against her for a few moments. He wants to let himself embrace it, he really does, but...no; he’s learned plenty enough lessons about vulnerability in the past, even around the people who earnestly told him they loved him. He pulls himself away from the hug, and clears his throat before he speaks to cautiously try and prevent his voice from wavering again. 

“C-C’mon, Molls, we still have a game going on. It’s my turn. Hit me with it.”

“Okay,” Molly smirks. “Truth or dare?” 

“D-Dare! Hah!” he stutters, because he just knows that if he continues to pick truth then they’re just going to nosedive further and further into this mush fest. But Molly just smirks at that answer, like it’s exactly what she was hoping he would say, and she opens her arms all big and wide.

“I dare you to hug me for…thirty seconds!” 

Yeah, okay, maybe he should’ve seen that coming. Molly beams the moment she sees the pink hue surrounding him, and catches him in her arms the moment he crashes into her. She winds her arms around him to give him a big ol tight hug, the same way she always does, but this time she tilts her head to rest it against him, and for some reason that gesture makes all the difference, because Scratch realizes that it makes him feel…safe. Something about her soft cheek resting against his head makes him feel protected, like nothing in the world can penetrate him if he just stays here in Molly’s arms. She hums happily as she shifts her arms around, and there’s something so…comforting about the way she holds him. Sure, she may give the tightest hugs he’s ever experienced in either of his lives, but there’s also something so delicate about them, like he’s the most fragile, precious thing in her life. 

There’s something inexplicably overwhelming at that thought. Subtly, gently, Scratch allows himself to nestle up against her, like if he just stays right here in her arms he can just soak all of the love right out of her. 

He’s not sure how much time has passed by the time Molly speaks up.

“Scratch?” she whispers, like she’s afraid speaking any louder will break him. “I think your thirty seconds are up, you can let go if you don’t want to-”

“I know,” he mumbles, before she can finish that train of thought. She doesn’t reply to that, not at first, but then she readjusts so she can wind her arms around him again. 

…Huh. He hadn’t even noticed that she had been the one to let go first. 

“Do you want to...call the game here?” she mumbles, once her cheek is back resting on his head.

“Y-yeah,” Scratch replies, nodding his head. “Yeah. This…this seems like a good stopping point”

Molly hums happily, squeezing him just a bit tighter. “Yeah, I think so too.”

[mickules]

Are you gonna do tumblr plus? Because you’re my favorite blog but I’m broke and have no money 😭

Oh. . .Oh nooooooooo

HA, yeah, no fear, I'm not signing up for tumbl's li'l scheme.

Art for me is a definitely a passion, but I've zero plans on monetising it at the moment since I'm lucky enough to make a decent wage driving trains. I don't even have ads enabled on my youtube cos making money from fanworks is a copyright nightmare that I don't want to navigate. That and navigating my tax return

(also tho, "favourite blog"!! AHH! you flatter me! :D)

[from this comic] @mortonmurphy Sorry for the so response there - I'm not so good at replying in a timely manner, but thank you so much for such a lovely, heartfelt ask! I totally sympathise with feeling intimidated; I've felt the same way sending asks before, it can be oddly daunting! I'm so happy to hear you liked that comic; It seems to have resonated with a lot of people and that's really so wonderful, just warms my heart! The Dangan cast have such good chemistry, there are infinite scenarios and dynamics to play with; Taka and Hina being supports for each other as survivors is a top tier hypothetical! DR + AA cross-overs are PEAK EXCELLENCE, they just fit so well together! Ace Attorney is an old, old friend to me, and I've had that [particular comic idea] sorta floating about the noggin, I'm really pleased with how it turned out :) Thanks so much! :D

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@a-lien-kai (!! Oh!! :-O high praise that it's my nonsense that got you liking Taka :D Glad you're liking this strange little AU I've been having fun with!) good news; I've drawn a little Gundham before in [this dump] ! but I'll post him here again; before and after putting on his face for the day:

[from these asks here] Oh my absolute sympathies; being born to a family of morning people is a terrible fate.

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from the [same ask dump] as the Gundham one ^ (:-) happy to hear you get smiles from my art!! thanks so much! :D) Resting Ishimaru Bitch face kills me XD, and Taka, Peko and Maki share such a similar intense energy, that I love the idea that it's a shared genetic family trait.

SORRY FOR THE DELAY THERE!! (might be a moot point, but I figure it's worth still answering!) Putting it on tumblr and tagging me should be a good way for me to find it, that's totally fine! I've also no problem with you mentioning my account name on AO3, that's A-OK by me ;) I appreciate you checking just in case. (also, gift fic!! I'm still like -> :-0!! so cool!)

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Yesssss! It's a good sign when multiple people wanna share the same fic! I love the enthusiasm! "Trinkets" by Sapphin3 has a very interesting idea; I do enjoy people exploring how those who died in the killing game might react to the consequences of their untimely deaths, (and "Touch starved" is a short but very sweet look at some Taka/Hiro step-bro interactions) A+!

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OH! I've read the first few chapters of "The Problem with Perfection" by DracotheDeathEatingCupcake, and I'm really digging the exploration of Taka as less self-assured, dealing with the anxiety caused by the constant pressure of the expectation he's under. It's got such a strong narrative voice, you really feel the stress and insecurities that Taka is fighting with, and the ending of ch.1 OOF what a GUT-PUNCH!

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I've not read Killer Killer, but as a concept; a serial killer targeting serial killers is sincerely REALLY COOL, kinda like the whole 'Sparkling Justice' background character from SDR2, and more Mukuro is always appreciated. . . Though I do feel it'd work perfectly well as a stand-alone concept, outside of the Dangan universe, I might check it out.

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I've also had some kind DMs along this vein and I'm very flattered by the interest, but I have to say that I'm not planning on doing requests or commissions, I do very much appreciate the enquiry however!

(I don't mean to single this particular asker out - especially since they don't have their own tumbl but thought it was a good opportunity to mention!)

@randomqueenkitcat1121 Absolutely Do! I hope you have a great time with it! You can get persona 4 golden on steam which is like a HD remake - the original came out on the PS2. I'll admit I've not managed to finish it yet cos I am capital B- BAD at video games, but it really explores some A+++ themes! (AHHH! what lovely compliments!! :D Glad you enjoy the dorks and their shenanigans! :D )

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I think Avatar is a good show! I watched it a lot when I was younger, as it had a ton of re-runs on terrestrial tv. The world concept and building is excellent, and it works so well with how the plot requires a world spanning journey. The characters all have real rapport, and genuine growth across the series, all wrapped up in gorgeous animation, trés bien. In general I tend to gravitate towards more 'sci fi' concepts than 'fantasy/swords and sorcery' ones, so avatar is certainly an outlier there.

[from this fanart!] These suggestions all have REAL cryptid energy, and honestly; the idea of a free-range Hooty equivalent? Nightmares

[this post] and its [re-draw]

@cicicookie12 I too live the curse of pale ass Irish skin; you have my many sympathies, and my factor 50+ suncream.

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@yaysof11037 I dunno why we're surprised - Taka's speedo is so in character it's ridiculous, how did we not all see this coming?

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OK LOOK, I DID NOT MEAN TO FLATTEN HIS ASS! There are only so many ways to draw someone FACE DOWN ASS UP in a SPEEDO and not make it the WRONG SIDE OF SPICY

Speedos leave nothing to the imagination

consider it an optical illusion.

---

In general I'd have liked to have seen more one piece swimming costumes (like Komaru's from the promo image) for the sportier/shyer girls, and more abs on our strong women which is what they deserve damn it!

However, there does seem to be some thought put into matching the characters personalities which was a pleasant surprise to say the least. Sakura, Korekiyo, Chihiro and Kiibo's are PEAK; tho' I wish Sonia had kept her wetsuit, plus we were robbed of Kazuichi and Hajime's matching camo speedos, which would've upped our disappointing speedo count from 2 to a slightly better 4 It would've been hilarious if Celeste had remained fully clothed the whole time.

Fingers in his ass never left.

(next set of asks [about parent trap au]) (previous set of asks [mostly about takaaki/hiroko] )

[desultory-novice]

What are your thoughts on Adeleine?

003 - Adeleine

...!!! That feeling when you were secretly waiting for this character ask and it finally shows up in your inbox...!

Frankly, I don't know how you can be an artist (or a novice artist, in my case) in the Kirby fandom and not be completely in love with Adeleine! (...And Drawcia and her sisters and even Paint Roller, to varying degrees.) She comes to Popstar to study art! That's what all of us who are drawing Kirby right now are doing!

Whenever we pick up a pencil or stylus to draw "Kirby," we're mentally boarding a ship to Popstar and studying it for its beauty, mystery, adventure, love, bold and soft colors, interesting inhabitants, and sometimes for its dangerous and darkside for artistic inspiration!!

Adeleine is so wonderful! I feel like we're kind of blessed to have a character like her, to be honest! Even without her bonus role as an emotional vessel for the rest of us players/watchers/fans, she's just a great character. The way she runs off to various planets in 64 to investigate old ruins and puzzles even before Kirby and Ribbon can catch up?! I just want to point out how amazing that is for a female character of that era! (Has it been said before that Kirby has some real solid female characters? Because it does!)

(And that's not even getting into the many wholesome/kickass non-binary reps! Including our very own titular protagonist! :hugs Kirby plush:)

Brought this up in the Dedede ask, but while Adeleine is like Dedede's little sister-figure, I personally see Adeleine as being a big sister to most of the rest of the cast around her. She may not know everything there is to know, but she's got an excellent head on her shoulders, an inquisitive mind, and a lot of common sense! 

...Wellllll okay, when you destroy enough of her art, she does get angry enough to try and fight you despite having 1 HP...and not knowing the first thing about fighting...but she's under duress! Mostly, she knows enough to feed people when they're hungry, and that's very important!

In that sense, it's hard to pin down a "favorite relationship" for her because it's hard to imagine any character she wouldn't be just wonderful with! I think it's fair to say she loves everything about Dream Land! Though doubtlessly there are SOME things that confuse her or that she hasn't QUITE adopted to - ie, sharing food...

--- Adeleine = Ado?? --- Tbh, when I first got back into Kirby (mostly via a lot of digging on the wiki for things I'd passively noticed while playing the games but hadn't paid that much attention to) it seemed obvious to me that Adeleine was Ado! I mean, the game had limited room for displaying English text, and the names "Adeleine" and "Ado" both start WITH "Ado" when written in Japanese. In fact, I was downright boggled that this was even a question! But...it was weird that the official Dedede Dictionary didn't use any artwork of Ado on their Adeleine entry...

Over time, I came around to the idea that Adeleine doesn't HAVE to be Ado. And there's so much interesting stuff going on in the world of Kirby that there should be room for alternate interpretations! 

Is Ado Adeleine's mirror world counterpart?? (Maybe SHE fell through the Mirror Dimension and Adeleine popped out?!) Or is Adeleine Ado's parallel? Maybe they were actually twin sisters who came to Popstar?! An idea I personally like to explain the discrepancy is that time passes unusually on Popstar and Ado was maybe Adeleine's mother or grandmother! 

On that note, perhaps "King Dedede" is actually a dynasty of penguin rulers who all take the same name?! That could explain why his design changes radically from game to game too! (And why he had lightning powers that one time! Maybe that was something only King Dedede I had!) And so, King Dedede the XXI (of Forgotten Lands) just happens to resemble his ancestor, King Dedede the IX (Of 64 fame) more than the rest of his line...

Those numbers are incredibly rough, btw. Don't take them seriously.

Also, it’s still altogether possible Ado just decided to start pinning her bangs up under her beret and use her full name around the Dream Landers the more she stayed there. (Maybe she went by Ado in the beginning because -they- all had short/simple names and she felt it was easier?)

...Also, here! A quick Adeleine doodle I was working on this morning while thinking about this ask. Couldn’t talk about our resident artist without pulling out my stylus after all! (...However, I didn't look at any references - bad Dess! - when drawing this, which is why I gave her an extra button. Oops.)

-- Adeleine the Human -- I don't ship Adeleine with anyone because, unlike the majority of Kirby characters who are either non-humanoid aliens with a wide berth of potential/implied mental and physical ages, Adeleine is human and she looks to me all of 14 at best. I could have bought Ado as 16 or older because of the long, lanky body her sprite has, but Adeleine is still very baby-faced!

...Also...almost everyone she interacts with are non-humanoid aliens?? That or weirdly evolved animal offshoots. The girl gets embarrassed just sharing food-kisses with Kirby and the others! Give her a break!

(I might draw her as friends with that cat-eared witch you get the cleaning ability from some point down the line though, because that is a completely ADORABLE enemy and has appeared in both games she’s been in.)

Now, outside the realm of shipping, I think a grown-up Adeleine is an incredibly cool idea!! And I would love to see how a youth spent on the literal and physical "Dream Land" that is Popstar would affect her as an adult!

I saw someone on Twitter talk about a desire for more creative designs for adult Adeleine than just "Adeleine but sexy" (I'm paraphrasing here, but that was my takeaway) and while I haven't encountered many examples of either, I too would be interested in seeing more "real world college art major" depictions of Adeleine! (Err, I mean...Earth is kind of a wreck (?) and we have NO idea what the evasive human civilization is up to right now in the Kirby-verse, so "college" is more there for artistic inspiration than a likely actuality, but you know...!)

Now, for all the mysteries of Earth and humanity, I personally don't need HAL Labs to spell out Adeleine's (back)story. The one thing I -don't- want, though, is for Adeleine to ever be permanently shelved or de-canonized...That's maybe why I got a little tetchy around the increasing speculation that “Humans = Ancients (Halcandrans)” (...true or not) because to me, it's getting a little close to cutting out any room for someone like Adeleine to exist in Kirby.

...It's also why I get annoyed when she gets left out of the novels! Do they not want her in there because they have to explain just what a "human girl" is and the answer would absolutely destroy canon?? On the other hand, she's in the Itsudemo Kirby books with decent frequency and that makes me happy!

Mild spoilers, but just like Forgotten Land gave us a much better idea of why characters like Daroach exist in Kirby, it would be nice to see it used as a vehicle to give us a better idea of why Adeleine does too!

To end on a fun note, artist Bendedede on Twitter drew this one pic of Adeleine and the crew that called to mind a Christopher Robin/Winnie the Pooh type situation where she lived in the real world and the Dream Land crew were kind of her imaginary friends (rather, I can't say for sure that was what the picture was about - this was only my take solely based on looking at it) and it is one of the most enchanting concepts I have ever encountered in a Kirby AU!

[piratewithvigor]

How I listen to each of my favourite bands (a bullet point piece)

Aerosmith: They're on the radio. It's the fifth time today. Somehow never the same song. Until tomorrow, anyway. One will make you homesick. One will make you sit in slack-jawed awe of Joe Perry. One will make you curse the day he was born. They all make you love him. In the back of your mind, your thumbs hurt.

The Beatles: You have all the studio albums on your iPod nano with the scroll wheel. It has 2GB of space, so there's nothing else. You sing along to the songs with your best friend in 7th grade during school. The teacher tells you to keep it French or to shut up. You switch to "Michelle" because you're 12 and a smartass.

Bon Jovi: You're on the bus home from a long day of fifth grade. When you get home, the same old, same old. You don't know it yet but this is the beginning of your depression. As you graduate from Crossroads to a 2-Disc Best Of, everything feels worse. You work on a puzzle in the basement and even though maybe no one will ever love you, Bon Jovi understands.

Buddy Holly: For the first time since high school started, you have a friend. She's wonderful and she understands you. Maybe there's 3 time zones between you, but it doesn't stop you from digging a hole deep into a fantasy world that you live in for months with her. Buddy's music is simple and the records are bright yellow. Maybe everything will be okay.

David Bowie: You didn't care when he died. You didn't know better. You got a CD of greatest hits for your birthday two months later. You still didn't understand the fuss all too well. A few tracks pop out at you and you get the album that features them. Dad insists you listen to the album in the dark on the floor (he doesn't say while smoking weed, but if it were the 70s, you would have). Finally you understand: David understands you.

Def Leppard: You're 13 and trying to find your place in the world. Trying to make a name, so you write. As the characters who make no sense are fleshed out in 1667 words every single day, the drum loop that finished Pyromania follows you around.

The Doors: You don't know how Jim Morrison came into your life. Maybe it was by an experiment gone wrong or a curiosity. Your classmates question why you're reading a book with a shirtless man posed as if being crucified. You don't know how to answer that you think you might be him. You hadn't believed in reincarnation, but he sparked something inside you. You can feel consciousness slip away when he plays his game called 'Go Insane'. You hold a Celebration Of The Lizard for a poetry slam and the adrenaline pushes you through your fear. You feel Jim's words in your actions for years. He watches you when you sleep.

GNR: You send your siblings out of the basement. They aren't old enough to hear swear words in music and you want to listen to Appetite in the dark. You want to jump on top of the couch and punch the floor. You can feel Axl's anger and it courses through you.

Journey: You've been told you look like Steve Perry. You aren't sure if it's a compliment or an insult. You think you sound like him. You know all the words to Don't Stop Believing at the school dance. Your first memory of your boyfriend was him singing it at the talent show. Your last memory of him is singing I'll Be Alright Without You, severing the final tie. Wheel In The Sky opens your next day. Things don't feel okay anymore.

KISS: You're 4 years old and your Dad is watching the scariest freaks you've ever seen on the TV. In the next scene, the scariest one is sitting and talking to people who look like your grandparents. You forget about them for 7 years. They show up again in your newest hyperfixation and you give them a chance. The freaks who once scared you strip away your fears and set you free.

Led Zeppelin: Your imagination was just opened to the possibilities of stories beyond the realms of reality. What you thought you never knew opened you to a new layer of your past that you didn't understand. The tendrils of influence wrap around every part of your future.

Motley Crue: The writings paint them as the villains. In many ways, they are. In just as many ways, they're the same scared kids you are. For better or for worse, they bring you into a community. There, you experiment hurting yourself in ways therapists don't look for. The greatest friend you could ever want.

Ninja Sex Party: They're a rock band for kids who don't understand rock bands. You have no physical media for them and it feels like you may never get the chance. Copies are limited. So your spotify is thick with every song they've ever recorded. They're fleeting and they're your rock.

Queen: You know just a little too much about them. They're bigger characters than the radio lets them be. You love Bohemian Rhapsody before you begin to hate it before you learn to love it once more.

Rammstein: As they bleed for their art, so you bleed for yours. Perhaps out of spite, perhaps out of desperation, but plague cuts your work short. It cuts you from the glory you could have had. The first album you've ever waited for the release of by a band.

Reckless Love: Never before has a band felt so attainable and yet so far away. Your family doesn't understand them, so you hide them away. The only recklessness was falling in love.

Rolling Stones: Angie helped you through more than you know. The lips are on your tapestry for a reason. You were blind for so much for so long. You never gave them a chance. They're using their chance now.

Rush: Once shrugged-off nobodies. You gave them a chance out of curiosity and desperation. Now you can't understand the possibility of never having liked them. They brought you your first great grief and your first proof of miracles. The red star of the solar federation burns bright. Assume control.

Styx: You're standing in the snow. The bus is an hour late. You can't contact your parents because they took your one method of contact as a punishment for not making your bed. You're listening to a Greatest Hits on your iPod. Crystal Ball. It's an hour. Blue Collar Man. You get home and no one noticed you were late. They're eating without you. Suite Madam Blue.

Tom Petty: The news hits you. Your throat is blocked and you don't say anything. You listen to I Won't Back Down before telling your Dad. He was the first you experienced while being a fan. He wasn't the last. You torture yourself artistically in his honour. You attend a tribute concert and scream yourself hoarse.

Tuff: You want to leave home and block out all the memories as best you can. Stevie makes it impossible. But he's also one of the only ones there as all your best friends who aren't online forget your birthday. He acknowledges you.

Van Halen: The grief is insurmountable. For weeks afterwards, Eruption makes your heart sink. 5150 makes you cry instead of imagine pleasant nonsense as it once did. There is no comfort. If he can go, what's stopping anyone else?

The Who: Maybe they got to your head a little. You were sitting in a room in school for hours each day, completely alone except for Tommy playing on your tiny laptop. No supervision. No classmates. Just your monstrosity of a project and Tommy.

[cutegirlmayra]

I love your classic prompts. Can I request classic Amy chasing Sonic like normal wanting to spend time with him only for her to try a new strategy. She purposefully starts ignoring him hoping he notices her absense and chases her instead. Classic doesn't notice at first bur does figure out her ploy. He does find himself missing their usual game of chase. He finds her forlone in Tails workshop and seeing her upset decides to play along with her game to cheer up.

(Art is not owned to me, please support the official artist! (x) This is where I found it.)

Due to a hiccup in my Prompt sorting, I was in dire need of a N.270 replacement and I needed it to be a Classic Sonamy prompt.

You're the lucky winner XD

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN, DON'T SEND ANY, THEY CLOSED! This ain't no 24/7/11, you dig? lol

Prompt:

The dry dust sprang up with every powerful but small foot fall of our classic, rosy-cheeks Amy. With a small smile on her face, it was slowly dropping to a look of effort.

Sonic, sporting his typical youngster look, tucked in his arms to run faster before eyeing the pink hedgehog behind him.

He watched as she ducked her head down and tried to charge with the last of her reserved stamina, but it wasn't going to be enough, and he knew that.

He kept watching a moment, wondering about things, before looking up at the sky to see that this was about the time she gave up and went to get something to eat.

He skidding around a bend and then, took off with only a fading blur of blue, a streak of light that perfectly began to blend into the afternoon, azure sky as he seemed to launch off and fly over the ramps of their world.

Amy slowly caught her breath and at the same time, began to come to a complete stop.

With her small heart beating rapidly and her excitement all but spent, she bent over to grip her knees and just allow her body to stabilize from such a run.

'He looked back at me, that time.' she said with such sweet hope in her thoughts, bursting with young love and some confidence.

She looked up and placed a hand up on her forehead to block the beautiful sunrays and get a better look at how many miles he had traveled through the air. "Hmm..." She tightened her lip, "I'll have to catch him in... ehmm... two days time!" she concluded, dusting off her hands and heading back.

She really didn't have an issue with staking out again with her binoculars, but she decided to pitstop at Tails's place for some R&R in the sun. It was there that she went to the beach, dipping her ankles in the sand to keep them put and having the waves lightly sink the rest of her legs deeper into the sand while she laid and soaked up the rays.

"You still planning on chasing him all over again, Amy?" Tails innocently asked as he was working on his favorite plane.

When did he ever just... not work on it?

But Amy understood, just laughing, "Why don't you ever stop fixing that biplane of yours?" she teased, "It's love, Tails. Pure, uncorrupted, and untainted love~" she put down her reflective surface she had to get a tan on her muzzle to place her hands together and up by her cheek. She grew sleepy... so she easily laid her head on her hands as a pillow of sorts, resting.

"Hmm..." Tails shrugged, thinking about it. "Well, I have a lot of things I could tune up on it. I don't just fix the engine every day..."

Her eyes sprung open.

She shot up from the sand with small particles of itself flying out as though the Little Mermaid on the rock with a splash as her big finish.

"That's it!" Amy was spirited to renewed life, charging up towards the house. "I need a new angle!" her small, high-pitchy voice was juiced with enthusiasm again.

Tails looked back to see her running into the old plane that they called home and shrugged, getting back to his craft. (Sonic OVA location)

In two days, Amy had sown and made a beautiful red dress with a white stripe around it, letting it hoop out, and wore sunglasses to look 'too cool' as well as a purse and boa to look 'out of your league.' (A callback to the Sonic Offical Classic Amy Meme for Sonic Mania)

She walked with one hand on her hip and the other swaying a bit up and out, looking like she had places to go and people who demanded pictures of her for their editorial debut.

She walked up and down the zone, ready to present her scripted lines with an actress's ease, and have that boy crawling after her by her heels.

But in this case, she wore boots with a white-striped line up them, high and mighty, and made sure her beautiful headband that replaced her rascally tied scarf around her head, tossing out the fashionless rebel with a cause for a high-class, ride-or-die lady looking for some places to blow some rings on.

When Sonic finally walked by, her pace was flawless but her sunglasses lowered and her mouth formed an 'o' in her surprise that he showed up. 'Sonic..!!!' her eyes sparkled but she shook her head, pushing up her sunglasses and going right back into her swing of her pre-developed girly hips.

He stopped only because the reflection of her sunglasses blinded him a moment and he put his hands up to his face, shaking his head, "H-hey, watch it, lady! What are you, in competition with the sun..?!" He removed his hands to suddenly see her highlighted by the very rays of that which wanted to compete with her, her delicate blinks with her long, mascara-eyelashes flapped like birdwings on either side of her masked eyes, covered by the sunglasses she only slightly lowered to look coquettish. "Oh... Uh... A-Amy?" he leaned back and looked a bit amazed he could recognize her, but then also, formed a confused look in his narrowed brows at the sudden transformation. "What are you doing here..? Like... that?" he didn't know what to point to first, so he just looked up and down with his eyes, then pinpointed every change with the rapid darting of his eyes as he processed the new look.

"Staring will cost you extra." she batted the lowest quill on her left side, starting her attitude adjustment.

"...Huh?" He raised one eyebrow, then stood up straight and folded his arms,... he seemed to have already figured out something was amiss here... "Come again?" He tapped his finger to his elbow, 'Is she really trying, here?' he couldn't help but think back to when she played cute and innocent, trying to win this very attention in a--not so pompous--way.

'She was practically begging me before, now, what's this? Demanding it?' he scoffed in his head, before she did something he'd never expect.

"I've been doing the whole 'dating you' thing for far too long, Sonic The Hedgehog." she fanned her hand out and walked over to him to swipe her head dramatically away.

He watched her dismissive hand and then remained silent, wondering where the heck she was going with this.

'Dating?' he seemed to have been completely unaware that's what she thought of her 'chases'. To be honest, he passed through here more frequently simply because he thought she was still training to be stronger and faster to come on adventures with him without worry of being kidnapped or seen as a Damsel in Distress... but now, it started to register this was her way of 'flirtily pursuing him'.

He knew she was flirty, but for real?

"It's about time I started to run my own track, and unfortunately, I just don't have the... particular mood for racing after celebrities anymore." she dug into her purse and swiped out a dust-feather, tickling his nose with it as he tried to fight the sneeze but did anyway.

"Think of me often, will you?" she tossed him a staged hankerchief as though he was 'crying' over losing her, when really, she purposefully made him sneeze.

He caught the handkerchief and just looked at it as though this was the strangest interaction he had ever had.

"Now, wait just a Sonic second-" he held the handkerchief on his pointer finger and spun it around, lifting a toe up to show he wasn't too phased before she started to walk away again.

"...Amy?" his head shot back to her as the handkerchief fell softly to the ground in his surprise that she completely ignored him. He had a comeback, "Aren't... you gonna stick around to hear me out?" It was everything she needed to hear to take a deep breath of that empowering air and leave this boy wanting more.

She didn't leave him any time to comment.

She only stopped for a brief moment to bask in that glory of what a sweet sound it was to hear the man of her dreams pleading for her attention this time.

She just gave him a another condensing look over her shoulder, as if she was saying she could do better, and was worth more than what she was originally getting out of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She dipped her glasses down, and loosened up her jaw a bit, "Did you say something?"

The look on Sonic's face was priceless, it was utter shock at her defiance to turn around and give him anything at all.

-"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" starts playing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=serV18MirGg-

She pushed up her sunglasses, confident at last she had got him.

When she turned around, she was smiling so nervously, blushing like crazy,... as Sonic turned his head to try and process the strange power-struggle that had just happened.

For a few days, he refused to give her any attention, and she did the same. In passing, he'd narrow his eyebrows and lift his nose up high in the air, lowering his eyelids as though to entreat her with a 'smolder' but she just shot back a hard, cheeky bat of her eyes before walking away with a stride and sway of her hips.

He looked away with a 'tsk' that he was yet again being refused... he denied it was rejection, Sonic doesn't get rejected, he rejects you!

And... he didn't have the heart... to keep this going for so long.

Finally, he had striven past her as she was on the beach, minding her own business and acting like she didn't even see him. But right when he groaned and headed into the plane, she sharply looked back and put her bundled hands up to her muzzle. 'He looked at me! Was that longing? Frustration? Awww~! Sonic!' her little tail wiggled in her silent squees. 'If only you knew how much I wanted to give into you~ But I've never gotten this kind of attention from you before! It's... Ohhh! It's so exciting, b-but... from afar...' she looked at her pinic and sandwitch, imagining when they used to do that... together.

'Sonic's stubborn...' she concluded, picking up a plasticbag with a sandwitch in it and taking it out. 'It's... awfully lonely... don't you feel that way, too,... Sonic?' she gave a hoplessly devoted look back to the plane... longing... yearning for something to give...

-"Hopeless Devoted To You" starts playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-3NvDp28U4-

Sonic kicked the inside of the plane, folding his arms and looking away before unable to resist taking a peek and climbing up to peer out the window with his little toes pushing up on the side of the plane.

Amy was sitting forelorned... eating her food on the beach.

The water sparkled like a curvy train that kept moving past her... she still rivaled the sun... even from the back...

His furrowed and angled brows suddenly softened at seeing her so alone...

"Sonic?" Tails's voice chipped in.

It startled him, as for a moment, he was vulnerable.

He jumped down and dusted himself off, "Yeah, what, Tails?" he tried to look as though he was bouncing everything off, but when Tails flew up to peek out the window, he smiled, flying back down.

"You know, she's doing this to get you to spend at least... some more time with her... instead of just running away, right?" He put his hands behind his back, ducking his head down cutely and sweetly as though to come off less prying to Sonic. "Maybe... you could just sit down and talk with her a bit... that might make it easier on both of you, yeah?"

"Easier? You asking me to give in and lose to her... her... her whatever she's calling this ruse?" He tossed a hand out and waved it up at her attitude, pouting now at her resistence.

"Hmm... N-no... But maybe you could remind her why she started chasing after you in the first place?" Tails raised a suggestive finger up, hoping to inspire him.

"... Get Eggman to make another Metal Sonic again?" Sonic was planning to stage yet another lie to rescue her and get back his station with her again.

"...No." Tails cut that down right away. "Let's not go through THAT again... I meant, I don't know,... flowers?"

"Flowers?" Sonic accusingly looked to him.

"Yeah! Girls like those things!" Tails cheerfully stated.

Sonic looked down, thinking...

Tails decided to try a different approach, sighing, and being a bit more sensitive... even if Sonic didn't seem to want that... maybe... he just had a hard time talking about his feelings?

"You think she pushed you aside, huh?" Tails looked up to the window again, "But she's been just as bummed out about the standstill as you have been, Sonic..."

Sonic slowly raised his head up, ... and to keep his cool, he only looked at the window Tails was glancing at through the corners of his eyes...

"She really does miss you... and I've seen you look back behind you as you've seen her walk by... and I can tell you miss her chasing you too. You both want the same attention, but you're... you're both not really willing to admit it..." he closed his eyes with a smile. "I don't know what's going on with you two, exactly, but I can tell you're both sad when you ignore each other... So... why not just stop the hurting and sit down with her? It's not like your giving in, you know? It's more like..." He looked towards where his plane was... "...A tune-up."

Sonic's eyes bent back, he needed to hear that speaking to Amy first wasn't a defeat... but a way to make things right.

Without a word of thanks... he just looked down and then smirked, seeming to renew his spirits and sped out to meet her.

Tails frowned a little, looking out after him and lowering his head, "Your welcome... I hope it helps." he then laughed, gripping his stomach, "Haha! Who knew Sonic was such a sap?" he then opened his eyes to show they were shriveled up in fright, "I hope he didn't hear that..." he whispered, almost terrified, and looked back to plug his mouth and quickly waddle away.

The plane might echo, somewhat...

Sonic sped over and skidded into laying comfortably next to Amy, who gasped in absolute delight, before trying to go back to her little pretend and brushing down the sandwitch crumbs from her dress and prepping her quills.

"...Hey." She looked away and closed her eyes, acting too good for him again.

"...Sup." Sonic opened one lazy eye to her...

She waited... and he smirked.

She looked back and his cheeky smile along with his eyeing her was gone, "You're... just resting?" she asked.

"...Got hungry." he admitted, reaching into the pinic basket. After reaching around for a bit, his heart jumped as he pulled out a wrapped chilidog.

He looked it over, then slowly looked up to Amy as though an apology.

She had been waiting for so long... for him to chase after her for a change.

"...This for me?"

She swiped it out of his hands.

"Hey!" he spread out, "That's mine!"

"Is it?" she gave him a teasing look and then raced away, "I made it, I eat it!"

"Oh? Is that it?" He got up in a runner's stance, "I'll race you for it!" he declared.

"You can take it if you think you're smart enough to get it!" she put it behind herself, sticking out her tongue with a wink.

He charged after her and tackled her lightly to the ground, the two laughing as Amy held up the chilidog as though away from him. "You're gonna smush it!"

But really... he was squishing her small, cute new self into a happy, relieved hug...

He was never after the chilidog...

(AWWWWWWWWW MY HEARTTTTTT, it's been so long since I've written these cuties who can't express themselves or communicate functionally at all T-T was also listening to this too xD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-JPzJtufRo “Without Love”)