#The Retreiver AU

[roseletterchan]

My imagination is going absolutely wild

And I’ll probably just call this the Retriever au for clarity sakes

[lurkinginnernarrator]

Yk what would be interesting?

Shen Yuan as a beast hunter.

Him taking into account SQQ's unstable cultivation, the fact that while he is a suitable actor he's not a perfect one, and promptly deciding on a course of action.

"Zhangmen-shixiong, Qing Jing is the scholarly peak. If we are not hunting down knowledge, and capturing it for the future generations, what kind of scholars would that make us? This master cannot allow such a thing to occur.

So this master will be setting an example for my disciples by going out myself on such an endeavor.

And not only is Qing Jing the peak of scholars, but we are cultivators as well. Is it not our duty to be intercessors between the spiritual and demonic things and the common people?"

Yue Qingyuan can do nothing but agree.

Cut to SY!SQQ hunting down rare and powerful beasts, his hunts taking months, as he stalks the beasts and observes their behaviors; compiling valuable information about countless beasts. He then cleanly kills the beasts, all the valuable parts go to Cang Qiong, usually to Mu Qingfang.

The rare beasts improve SQQ's cultivation base and level by leaps and bounds.

And! He doesn't have to navigate the original goods personal relationships because he's not at CQ! Being a poser is so much easier when you just have to be untouchable immortal.

Whenever SQQ comes back to CQMS it's to drop off a carcass or because he absolutely has to for peak lord business. Otherwise he's always out on some sort of quest.

The Qing Jing Peak Lord's skills shoot up by 100²

His steps are silent, when he's not thinking about it he just fades into the background, continually being on hunts where silence is necessary, being less than a whisper becomes muscle memory.

His gaze isn't only scathing anymore, it's also piercing. He observes everything.

His movements are quick, graceful, full of power and yet incredibly calculated. You can't hit a Blood Blossoming Demonic Hummingbird too hard, or it'll crumple, but if you don't hit it hard enough you'll be an exsanguinated husk.

He also takes to wearing a fur mantle: it's from a Heavenly Moon Snake-Leopard, some poachers had been stalking the Snake-Leopard for months, driving it into madness. SQQ dealt with the poachers of course, but the Snake-Leopard was beyond saving. While unfortunate, the fur is so useful! Warm, water repellent, regenerative, acid resistant, and excellent camouflage! The Snake-Leopard also gifted SQQ its fangs for killing the poachers, and they make impressive daggers.

Qing Jing Peak cannot get enough of this cool badass Shizun who puts even the Liu Qingge to shame when it comes to beast hunting! And whenever he comes back to the peak he has lessons on his hunts! He even brings back specimens!!

Mu Qingfang appreciates Shen-Shixiong's newfound hobby immensely. Not to disparage Liu-Shixiong's contributions, but Shen-Shixiong brought him not one, but TWO intact Yellow Butterfly-Lizard carcasses, liver, wings AND tongue intact! The downside Shen-Shixiong hunting so much Liu Qingge has less to do, which unfortunately means more work Qian Cao, patching up Bai Zhan Disciples. And the Sect Leader seems... Depressed? MQF will have his Head Disciple drop off some Blue Lily of Uplifting tea for him.

Liu Qingge is upset at being benched and very confused???

Yue Qingyuan just smiles painfully. "As long as Xia-— as long as Shen-Shidi is happy..."

(LBH is of course enamoured with his powerful and righteous Shizun)

And of course, SY!SQQ's skills do help him out quite a bit, his reaction time improved drastically, meaning no Without-A-Cure. And canon goes just a bit easier. Maybe.

[sp-ghoul-au]

"It's a perfect night for mystery and horror. The air itself is filled with monsters."

.・゜゜・

Welcome to the Scott Pilgrim Ghoul AU blog!

This is a Scott Pilgrim AU where all of the characters are a type of monster, inspired by horror movies, gothic literature, etc.

It follows the timeline of the comics most closely, where Scott finds Ramona and falls in love with her. He's forced to fight the hitmen Ramona's creator has sent after him to retreive her.

This blog will be a centralized place for art, comics, asks, writing, and any other info relating to this AU.

General trigger warnings for this AU: heavy gore, violence, variety of other dark topics typical in a horror movie setting

(work in progress)

.・゜゜・

TAGS:

#art

#comics

#character references

#asks

#character asks

#misc

[myballsitchaurghouchie]

ok fr ask though: Do the Lamb’s followers notice anything strange with the Lamb after the final battle with Narinder?

I feel like it’d be a MAJOR switch after seeing their leader being so devoted and all that

Right so in my Bygone AU the Lamb spared Narinder in the final battle and brought him back to the cult (although he stayed in a coma for a while).

When they got back, followers immediatly started worrying about the Lamb's weird behavior. The second they arrived on the cult ground, they started praying alone in the church incessantly.

Regular prayers, desperate pleas asking for forgiveness, regretting their choice to fight TOWW, blaming themselves for his current state, beating themselves over for doing something to traitorous to their god, hoping that prayers will bring him back to godhood, wishing they could undo what they've done and return to being a servant of the Red Crown. Stuff like that. They don't even know who they're praying to anymore.

No one else was allowed in the church while they prayed. No sermons were held anymore. The Lamb became even more distant than they usually were as a cult leader, though they still watched over the followers from afar. They talked very little (always mentionning some religious shit like "our lord's strength remains" as if to convince themselves they hadn't. like. nerfed the guy). Most of their time not spent praying is spent sitting beside Narinder's comatose ass and staring into the empty space like a freak, and later they went crussading to retreive Narinder's siblings.

Followers were obviously extremely concerned but they worked to make sure the cult (community) kept going as it was meant to, and continued trusting the Lamb because. well. they are their leader and savior. or something.

As for my God's Hunger AU, let's just say the Lamb helped themselves to some hunting upon return.

[absolute-ferret]

I'm thinking... Not necessarely cat Au but maybe... Animals... au...

Bcs N WOULD be a golden retreiver we all agree on that... J feels like and Afghan Hound to me... V is 100% a cat, either Norwegian forest cat or Maine coon... I have yet to think abt Uzi or Cyn and all....

[bonefall]

Any fun moteifs your adding for characters in bb!au? Like associating a character with a certain flower or somthing along those lines. I’ve always been a fan of that kinda thing.

Oh there's a lot, and families often have motifs now

Spottedleaf has a blight theme. She is associated with death, bones and leaf rot.

Thistles, Honeysuckles, and Forget-me-nots are political metaphors for the three major ideologies and their factions

Blackstar has a thing about frogs, how they change, and live in bogs

Bluestar has a lone wolf theme; on the subject that there's no such thing. Wolves are pack animals and she's never been truly alone.

Her whole family carries the wolf motif in various ways; I even ended up comparing Misty's adopted brother Swansong to a golden retreiver and it's true in my heart

In general I use food as a metaphor a lot. I use it for everything. In Heartstar's Rise I use juniper spice as an allegory for homesickness, in Darkstar's Commandment (coming soon) I used mice as foreshadowing for a thing, cooked food in general has a theme of connection in all of BB!DOTC, the invention of Paw Soup is symbolic of a new era for Clan Culture, etc

Bright Storm and her son Thunder Storm have a weather motif in relation to themselves and their relationship to Clear Sky.

Cinderheart and birds. BPD: Bird Perception Disorder

If the tower of babel is in a song it immediately becomes bumble coded

Several spirits are summoned by particular objects; Frecklewish comes with the sacrifice of an adder or offering of flesh, Appledusk comes for crabapples

Firestar and fire. Naturally. Fire Alone and all

[other-peoples-coats]

I read your sithspawn Obi-Wan au and I can't stop laughing it's so good 10/10. All I can think of is Qui-Gon walking in to find Obi-Wan staring at a wall being like "I can't tell if I got drugged or if I can see in UV now." and Qui-Gon not being sure if he should laugh or rush him to the healing halls. Or Anakin looking at old pictures of Obi-Wan and seeing more and more features show up as he gets older and Anakin being just so confused. Or what Cody's reaction to that would be.

I hope you're having a great day (your fics are great)

<3 cheers anon, I'm glad you like it! (and my other fics) but also l m a o yes 100%, obi-wan is always very casual with the 'so I might be dying or this is a fun new trick I can do now, 50/50 odds' and qui-gon always reacts with hahaFUCK. They get very familiar with the healers. There is talk of putting in a special code for the door, given how often master jinn has come bursting in, carrying his padawan over one shoulder, then flung him at the nearest bio-bed for scanning for some new exotic poison/allergy/weird reaction. (on the other hand, padawan kenobi is possibly the best vaccinated being in the temple, under the assumption that his genetics are so goddamn weird he might as well get the shots for mon cala mumps, montral pox, correlian bantha flu, and furred dropsy.)

There is at least several missions where they both get to play 'which of these cups/meals is poisoned' where the answer is either: a)neither (qui-gon is just Allergic to Random Local Ingredient); b)both (obi-wan is immune to Random Local Poison); c)One But Not The Other (which realistically is 'qui-gon's is poisoned; obi-wan's isn't', because if obi-wan's is poisoned it's basically the same as if neither is poisoned and qui-gon's not allergic to random local ingredient)

Anakin 100% sees holos of baby-wan and is like who tf is this random human kid?????? he does Not believe it's obi-wan until someone puts together a slideshow of like, here's babywan with teeny tiny claws. here's babywan with slightly bigger claws. here's babywan when he started growing his first set of horns! here's babywan--

(even then he is a bit doubt.jpg until the day obi-wan picks him up from baby jedi class and his pupils have changed shape or something.)

Cody is fine and cool about this. he is absolutely not stressed out that his jedi is of a species he doesn't recognise (even after delegating some slicers to traul the holonet about it) and is also best described as having a diet of 'yeah whatever'. he's totally fine that his jedi will run up a wall and skitter across a roof hanging by his claws. it's fine. this is fine. the man is a walking talking force powered radar dish that can see infra red and ultra violet and tracks things by scent as well as the undrana beasts the retreival corps use, it's fine, this is fine, he's can fit another antenna or radar or sensor on somewhere, there's space on his left bracer maybe.

[chromotps]

p-please. if you still ship ace/luffy? if not then it's fine no need to read/answer etc. i just wanted to ask because i think i saw you post related art on here earlier at some point? and i haven't stopped thinking about it since honestly. could you possibly. please add some more thoughts on that future/time-travel/age swap (??) AU that's basically older/pirate king luffy meeting spade captain ace? because it has infinite angst potential to me (something something you're as beautiful as the day i lost you....), but also an equal amount of emotional hurt/comfort. and i'd like to hear more. how would an older luffy react to a young-ish (still alive.) ace? like, how would their dynamic change? (or not at all, with luffy going immediately into younger brother mode despite being in his 40s or something like these videos of fully grown up golden retreivers acting like puppies in specific situations. though not gonna lie, a more collected/a fully grown luffy in both the physical and emotional aspect is also. ugh.) would he respect the potential time-travel /rules/ that probably the rest of the strawhats would try to make him adhere to (like not talking about events that ace doesn't know about yet, or generally not engaging physically with people that clearly don't belong in the timeline), or would he just selfishly try to enjoy the moment while it lasted? (or a secret third thing, maybe?)

it's like. a purely self-indulgent AU for me because it both allows luffy to meet ace once more/say goodbye to him/thank him for a lot of things or just do things that he didn't get to do being the younger brother (even more self indulgent sub-scenario to this is. similar to your acelu week work? luffy helping ace bathe/washing his hair because it had always been the other way round, with ace taking care of him), and ace technically gets to see luffy as the pirate king? which partially equals to seeing him accomplish his dream.

yeah. sry for all the spam but i'm. just so weak for this AU honestly and just wanted to reach out to you as i think you came up with it initially?

hello!!! yes, thank you for messaging—I've had Ace on the brain so much lately... Definitely still ship acelu!! It just started seeming like there were fewer and fewer people who shipped it in, er, the same way I did? Which is totally fair, with how much possibility for interpretation there is with these characters.

ANYWAY, my version of the time travel acelu AU (since, you know, I don't think I came up with anything groundbreaking—there are a few fics out there, I think, with an older Luffy saving his younger brother Ace, things like that)... So much of it depends on the circumstances, like, if Ace was briefly transported forward in time, or Luffy + the SHs went back. I might go with the first option—let Ace get a fullllll sense of Luffy in his Pirate King grandeur, haha.

"angst potential"—I definitely see that possibility, like, the pure shock Luffy would have seeing Ace young and healthy, miraculously alien after however many years it's been and yet so, so familiar. The little details Luffy might have even forgotten... the particular way the freckles fell across Ace's skin, the way he was always so expressive in his movements, tensing up in this new environment, leaning in toward Luffy when he's laughing. Also, different kind of angst, but I could imagine Ace having this sinking, freezing feeling when he finds out he died. A sort of resignation, like, his fear that he never deserved to live confirmed. Then, Luffy explains more about the situation—how he owes Ace his life, how so many people fought for him, how even Ace was moved to want to be alive. So then Ace is like, at least my death was worth it—I made something valuable of my life. And finally Luffy has to be like, no. I appreciate your sacrifice, but what I really wanted was for my brother to live.

Also (it's probably clear already) but because this is *my* take on the AU I wouldn't have it get too angsty. Not that I want everything to magically be perfect, I'd want whatever catharsis happens to feel earned... but with any of my headcanons, I'm just not compelled by a story where Ace still dies. 😂 So:

"would Luffy respect the potential time-travel rules" absolutely not, ahahaha. Mr. "I heard your rules, and they're stupid, so I'm making my own"? Fair, a more mature Luffy would recognize the true weight of messing with the past/future... But even recognizing that risk, he'd actively choose to prioritize his connection with Ace and his faith in his own instincts. Plus, I don't know, Luffy feels like the kind of character who you could tell, "It's either you let Ace die, or your crew" and he'd say, "no! I'm taking option #3" and then he makes it happen.

"how would their dynamic change?" - so, tbh, I first came up with this AU on a horny whim. I wanted older, even more self-assured Luffy to just have the time of his life messing with Ace while also piling on the adoration. I don't think Luffy would really "revert"... The way he acts in Wano, and other places, shows that his mindset has really shifted over time. (Actually, okay, caveat—I could see Luffy in his initial shock of seeing Ace, if you wanted to really push the angst, completely breaking. Then he might get a bit clingy, wrapping Ace in as close as he can get him, crying for his big brother...) On Ace's side, maybe he's put at-ease, because this really is Luffy, the person he loves most in the whole world... Same ridiculous laugh, same unstoppable smile. But Ace is also completely thrown for a loop, because you're telling him this guy?? Right here?? Is his baby brother (who he last saw as some 14yo pipsqueak??)? The guy able to shove him around with a slap to the back, and who's somehow able to restrain himself from yelling for meat because he's so engrossed in Ace, for some reason?

I definitely think Luffy would thank Ace for everything he did, both during Marineford, and just their whole lives... I don't even need to get into it in this post, but thinking of how Luffy carried Ace's love with him all those years (this post says it better). Anyway, Luffy would express all that to Ace, and then let that lead into why he wants Ace to live this time around even more desperately.

From there, it just depends on how long the time travel effect lasts. If it's brief, it might just be Luffy trying to convey some way to make Marineford go differently to Ace ("train your haki!!!! don't make reckless sacrifices thinking it's the only way you can show your love!!"). But............ if I wanted to be really indulgent, I could say the effect is a few days, maybe even weeks. And then, I could so see Pirate King Luffy just doting on Ace completely. Being the one to show Ace all kinds of wonderful things in this future, interesting treasure they've found—the same way Ace made him feel that wonder when they were kids. And then, like, treasuring Ace's physical form, that he's whole and safe... Gosh, with how defensive Ace might get at this whole situation, I could see older Luffy and his insight immediately clocking how much teen Ace was hurting and angry in a way his younger self never noticed. Especially Ace from his Spade Pirate days... So, Luffy's response to that could be the care you mentioned—insisting on doing something soft and appreciative, like bathing, or bringing him his favorite food to share in a private place, like a quiet spot on the ship or Luffy's room or somewhere...

Ahhhhhhhh I have once again dumped an absolute mess of thoughts into the world. Hopefully this is something like what you were looking for (even with all my biases 😂)!

[bullet-prooflove]

Angel Reyes Masterlist

Community Living Universe:

Fastest Girl In Town - It takes Angel 120 seconds to fall in love.

Back of a Buick - Angel returns something of yours.

Mi Reina (NSFW) - You continue to surprise Angel.

The Morning After - Angel wants a do over.

Botony - Angel can't help but tell you his feelings.

The Rose Garden (NSFW) - Angel makes love to you in the rose garden.

Pavlov's Bell (NSFW) - Angel can not get enough of you.

Poetry in Motion - Angel writes poetry.

Exception - You are the only expection to the rule.

Only For You - There's only you.

 Favourite Kind of Chaos - You're Angel's favourite kind of chaos.

Only You - You and Angel talk about a future.

SERIES:

The Half Way Point Series:

Part One: Pink Roses - Felipe doesn't like you.

Part Two: Blessing - Felipe gets to know you a little better.

Part Three: A Safe Space - Felipe helps with some repairs.

Part Four: Grow Strong - You help Felipe bury his grief.

Problem!Child Series:

Valeria - You find a surprise on Angel's doorstep.

Problem Child - Companion piece to Valeria - Angel's family is now complete.

Solutions - You come up with a solution to Angel's problem.

Messy (NSFW) - You and Angel manage to get a moment alone together.

Lunch Break (NSFW)  - You and Angel spend a little time together during your lunch break.

Taken!Series:

Part One: Mother - Tragedy strikes when Angel leaves you and Valeria alone for the evening.

Part Two: Bleeding Out - Angel returns home to discover what happened at the house.

Part Three: Touch & Go - Angel discovers where Valeria was taken.

Part Four: Meth Mountain - Angel retreives Valeria.

Part Five: Perfect - Angel reveals what he was really doing the night you were shot.

Part Six: Home - You and Angel make a new home with Valeria.

Secret - You keep a secret from Angel.

Traditions - You and Angel make your own traditions this Christmas.

Home - Felipe knows your pregnant.

King (NSFW) - Angel's Reina needs her king.

Pretty Young Thing (NSFW) - Angel wants to explore something new.

Making Memories - The Reyes family come together in the aftermath of a family tragedy.

Lady in Red - You've never been a traditionalist.

Adversary!AU - Deviation from the Community Living Universe.

Survival Skills - Angel knows how to survive in the face of adversity.

Fire - Angel reacts when Simon burns your house down.

Moodboard: Mi Reina - created by @the-hinky-panda

Mi Reina

NSFW Alphabet:

Aftercare

Baby

Submission

5 Sentences:

"Perhaps I need a drink" - Angel just wants to forget.

Please don’t look at me with those eyes. - Angel can't help but give you those eyes.

Can you lie next to her And give her your heart - Angel can't help but stay the night.

Haunt me in my sleep - Angel can't get any peace.

Hicky or a Bruise - Angel claims you as his own.

Skinny Dipping (NSFW) - Angel takes you skinny dipping.

HCs:

Sex that has sent him to the E.R

[icarianlibrary]

I was busy ALL day today, but in math I drew the ship the EPIC fandom is tearing eachother into pieces over: Telemachus/Antinous. NOT supporting the dynamic at all, ew, gross, throw up, but it's like IT CAN HAPPEN. IT COULD. Antinous is a man in ancient greece, AND he doesn't respect women, ew, gross, throw up. SO expect doodle dump of them because I didn't wanna learn 3 step algebraic equations (Unit test is on wednesday, I'm cooked)

ANYWAY I'll reblog this tmr with the doodle of the best written villian to ever villian x a literal golden retreiver. (Dw telemachus in this AU kills him when he FINALLY learns how to properally kill a guy)

TLDR; I do NOT support the actual ship of telemachus x antinous, but as @elianzis brought to my attention, he is a REALLY well written villian, not an excuse for why he would do such actions, but an explanation. !! NOT GLORYFIYING !! & Expect a doodle tmr

[the-craftsman-and-mover]

ooc: @hoopa-is-hoopa writer here. heres my au for you! superhero au. basically regigigas as a superhero. wich type of superhero universe is your choice

Baseline that i am going to set for this is: arceus is creating superpowered mercs. Superheroes and villains already exist. Pokemon types also exist but are just for there superpowers and shit.

The way that Regigigas got out of that whole situation was just from being more clever, also still has only 6 fingers and ilnesses that only a malfuncional tube boy can have.

Unown exist and look pretty much the exact same.

Craftsman and some of the other legends are just like pals outside of work, it and hoopa (who got birthed(?) real early) just like have fun, shared a couple of coffees with Zygarde (who stubbornly refuses help).

Had blond hair, dyes it green.

Its superpower is being able to instantly retreive/summon anything it has built.

[smokszyvverstar]

Heads up, talking about my Mario fankids AU that noone cares about

Because what are you gonna do about it?

Because Luigi has the braincell of the twins, and his interest in the STEMs (minus maths, more technology and engineering and botany), Fireheart (who i really want to reveal her name and identity bc its super obvious who she is but shes scared if she reveals who she is to the past guys then that will change the past and thus her present) loves listening to him, slightly more than Mario. In her time, Luigi is free to tinker about at the Hooniversity, and whenever shes in Beanbean she heads there whenever she can. Its cute how the bros eldest kids will both seek out their uncles for entertainment, so fun time is swap time. Because Mario has more fun adventure stories for Edama to listen to, and Luigi has more STEM infodumps for Fireheart to listen to

Shes especially fascinated with time travel, it reminds her of a bedtime story her dad told her, about the brave knight who lead the champions of the past to victory. And time travel was the gateway drug to all things quantum physics. She is fascinated by the whole mystery of it all, and while Luigi is more interested in classical physics, when she is older and wiser, they enjoy teaching each other and discussing the differences between these two fields.

Elio and Elena are more like their papa, golden retreiver energy. They both invested all their points into heart, instead of brain. But it makes life in their apocalyptic time easier, they dont lose hope because of blind hope and optimism. And while Edama is desensitised (eavesdropping ghosts on a daily basis does that to a bean), and Fireheart is quietly bearing a million worries, the twins just smile and say "we're the kids of heroes, and we can do anything!" And their optimism rubs off on Fireheart, and is one of the few things keeping her going.

[drewsbuzzcut]

Mark au maybe like a black cat x golden retreiver story line?? she's much more eh about things and mark is such a puppy with her

Ooo I haven’t done one like this before…

[sunsetofdoom]

everybody knows cats are witches

(a continuation of the daemon AU I started here, though really all the context you should need, even if you don’t know the general concept, is that Stede’s familiar is a golden retriever)

-

“It’s quite ridiculous,” Stede complained. His teacup sloshed in his hand, half-forgotten as he gestured. “Half my crew honestly thinks you’re a witch! This can’t just be Blackbeard’s fearsome reputation, Ed. Really, what have you done to them?”

Ed narrowed his eyes, a familiar smile twisting the shaggy beard, and said, “Come with us.”

Curious, Stede did, settling the teacup back in its saucer and rising to follow with Polly clicking gaily along at his heels. Likewise, Asher padded down the hall in front of Ed, a bit further away than would be comfortable for Stede and Polly; they seemed to have a longer range they could inhabit before the symptoms of human and daemon separation, a tight chest and emotional distress, began to plague them. Ash held his black tail high as he sauntered coolly over the mahogany floors, the very tip flicking back and forth with princely pride. At the end of the hall he jumped up onto the railing of the stairs, perching with all four of his paws in a straight line, and Ed gestured Stede and Polly up the stairs ahead of him.

When they were halfway up the staircase, he flickered his half-gloved fingers in a quiet good-bye. He stayed standing at the base of the stairs, and Asher continued his way up the banister, unconcerned with the distance they were putting between themselves.

Polly froze, her tail tucking between her legs. “Ed...”

He waved goodbye more emphatically, sauntering away in his big enormous boots with his hands on his hips. He was almost ten entire feet from his daemon, and even looking at him made Stede’s chest feel tight with sympathetic pain.

“Come on, then,” Asher drawled from the top of the stairs, rising up onto the decks, his dark fur catching the sunlight. “We don’t have all day.”

With one more nervous flick of his eyes to Ed’s retreating back, Stede followed.

Emerging above-decks was still a novelty, after all this time. The wind, the sunlight hammering down, the salt in the air catching on the back of his tongue- it was overwhelming and beautiful and terrifying. Polly shook her head, golden fur flying, and let her tongue hang out as she panted with an enormous doggy grin.

In front of them was Asher, intimately familiar- his dusty black fur, his scarred, torn ears, the ready-to-pounce tension of him even as he groomed himself meticulously. His tail swished back and forth against the wood of the deck, and he looked as though the entire world would wait until he was done cleaning himself- exactly like Ed, that absolute confidence in his own ridiculousness right up until the flash of claws the second they felt ridiculous.

Except Ed wasn’t there.

“Ash!” The deck tilting like he might be sick, Stede grabbed onto Polly, fisting his hand in her fur. Like their closeness could make up for Ed and Asher’s distance. He couldn’t quite tell if he or Polly had said Asher’s name; perhaps it was both of them at once.

Ash licked his paw, scrubbing furiously at the graying jowls of his face, appearing totally at ease. Alone. Oh, God, he was alone, with no human being to lean against or depend on, a thing of horror and revulsion like a human without a head. One of his ragged black ears twitched, and he stopped abruptly, put his paw down, and trotted away.

Stede pulled himself up by the banister, and followed, his face screwed up in concentration and worry.

The upper deck was empty at the moment, Izzy and Buttons both apparently busy elsewhere, so there was no one to scream or faint at the sight of a daemon with no human- all the more terrifying and unnatural for Asher’s nonchalance. Seemingly without rhyme or reason, Ash sat down in the middle of the deck, his tail curling around his paws until he looked like a statuette. 

Dizzy, Stede leaned on Polly where she was a solid weight against his thigh. Where was Ed? Was he alright, was this hurting him? They ought to have been doubled over in pain, their bond stretched too far for anything but crumpling up into a ball of agony and grief. He looked out past Asher and onto the sea to the south, the expanse of blue sky, and wondered if this was the same scene Ed could see, out of the window of the cabin...

The cabin which was right beneath the deck.

Ash stared up at them, green eyes pinprick-small in the bright daylight, and blinked slowly.

“But you’re not far from him at all,” Stede said out loud, for Polly’s benefit; she was still held tense against his leg. “He’s just in the cabin below. You’re still within range.”

A pleased, husky trill quivered in Ash’s throat, and he stretched out of his picture-perfect pose to trot over and touch noses with Polly. She whined with relief, nuzzling him as his battle-scarred head bumped up against her muzzle.

“See?,” he said, his silky-dark voice wry and amused. He turned, brushing Polly’s nose just barely with the tip of his tail as he walked away. “Scares the shit out of people.”

“Hey, boss?” As if to demonstrate, Frenchie pounded his way up the stairs, sugar glider daemon riding on his shoulder. Technically, crewmen weren’t allowed on the upper deck without an invitation from the captain or mates; such a rule had never been something Stede enforced, though at the moment he rather wished he had.

Catching sight of the lonely black cat daemon, Frenchie froze, his eyes enormous. The sugar glider squeaked, scurrying up into his hair and hiding on top of his head, shaking all over.

Asher saw the twitchy rodent movement and his green eyes dilated. A throaty noise burbled from him as he crouched down, tail lashing and claws digging into the deck, ready to pounce.

Frenchie screamed. Not bothering with the stairs, he vaulted over the railing and fell the full ten feet to the lower deck.

Shouting, Stede rushed to the rail to make sure he was alright, Polly barking in distress at his heels. Frenchie seemed to have caught himself on a pile of boxes, and was struggling to get out of the one he’d broken, stuck in what appeared to be a pile of spare sewing rags from their flag contest that absolutely no one had bothered to put away. He was tangled in scraps of fabric and trying to fight his way free, still squeaking with panic, and right on comedic cue the sugar glider sailed in her small downward spiral and landed spread-eagled on his face.

Straining forward, Ash craned his neck and tilted his head, trying to see- he must have hit the edges of his and Edward’s range, what a relief to see that they had one- and began to laugh.

Stede bit his lip on the twin urges to laugh and to scold. It was like watching Alma put a frog in Louis’ bed; he knew he had a moral duty to put a stop to things, but he didn’t know if he could do so with a straight face.

“That was a bit unfair, mate,” he told Asher instead, and hoped his smile wasn’t too audible; Polly’s tail, however, was wagging high over her back with visible excitement and amusement.

A shrug wriggled its way through Ash’s solid body- a sinuous curve of a movement that started in his shoulders and ended with a careless flick of his tail. “What?,” he responded innocently. “I like that guy.”

“He’s petrified of you,” Polly said, and she wasn’t bothering to hide her laughter. Discarding Stede’s captainly duties entirely, she bowed to Asher, lowering her upper body to the deck and stretching her paws out to him before bounding upright again. Her nails clicked against the wood as she danced, and Ash growled playfully, swatting at her and dashing a few feet backwards before pulling up to a stop, whipping around to make sure she would follow him.

Turning away from his daemon at play, Stede glanced down, scanning the decks. “You alright, Frenchie?”

“M’fine!” The shout came from the absolute opposite side of the ship, where Frenchie seemed to be hiding behind Wee John.

“Right,” Stede said to himself, duty done. He leaned his back against the railing, letting the glee of his daemon’s playful bounding infect him as he smiled and smiled.

[detective-gum-chew]

hnnnggggg i watched legally blonde today with a friend and bro i am ITCHING to write it as a case for ace attorney i am THINKING so HARD about it my brain might just explode

[somegrumpynerd]

More peyote au hcs

-Michael barks in his sleep. Fiona shakes her head every time she hears it like “even in his sleep he’s still pissed off about something”

-Geoff takes them to the pet store with him like “Okay you can each get one toy so you don’t destroy my house” and then lets them loose in the store to find what they want

-Matt finds a chew toy shaped like a donut and stops looking immediately, Gavin finds the toy with the loudest, shrillest squeaker in it so he can drive everyone insane, Jack finds a big bag of catnip because she saw what Gavin picked

-Alfredo loves working Jeremy into an absolute frenzy by asking him over and over who the good boy is (Jeremy goes quickly from excitement to frustration because Alfredo doesn’t know when to stop)

-(More accurately, he knows exactly when to stop he just refuses to stop there)

-Jack disappeared for a few days because she realised this was the perfect opportunity to infiltrate enemy hideouts and get information, nobody would suspect a little cat after all

-Unfortunately she didn’t tell anyone her plans, so she only got to infiltrate one base before Geoff found her and scooped her up, practically in tears but giving her a stern lecture about wandering off in a dangerous city. She did get lots of relieved head kisses and cuddles though and carried back home, so she wasn’t complaining too much

-Gavin and Jeremy both still love cats, so whenever they’re out and see one they get excited and sprint towards it to say hi. For some reason cats don’t like this