#also I hate posting stuff at this time but I want to keep up the streak whoops

[acosmicbee]

Teddy Bear

(First time posting on Tumblr! This is a repost from my Wattpad, so hopefully, you enjoy it!

TW: Typical Yandere stuff, neglect from reader's bio parents, reader gets drugged with some sleep medicine, reader is a child)

You weren't the biggest fan of airports. They weren't the most child friendly, even to one so independent such as yourself. You, at the young age of 7, were already tasked with keeping track of your passport, boarding pass and any belongings. 

While you felt proud that you hadn't lost anything important (to date) you were also rather sad. It wasn't fair that you were tasked with all of that while your little sister got all the help and attention from your parents. Not to mention that when you were her age they'd already started getting stricter about rules and chores. 

The only good thing about airports, and traveling in general, was that you only ever traveled to see your grandma. You adored your grandma, and she adored you. While your parents would take your sister out to town to get souvenirs or see attractions, your grandma doted on you.

You didn't have to do chores at grandma's house. Instead she would let you sit at the kitchen counter and talk about anything you wanted. It was like she was trying to make up all of the attention your parents failed to give you. 

It was from your grandma that you received your most beloved possession, a handmade teddy bear. She'd made it for you, from scratch. Even though he wasn't as perfect as the toys your sister got from the stores, you loved that bear. The imperfection added to the love and safety it radiated.

That was the reason you had hid the bear in your carry-on luggage, despite promising your parents to leave it at home. You didn't feel as safe without it, and you hated flying. Not to mention, your grandma had promised to knit the bear a sweater the next time you visited. Therefore, you totally needed it, even if your parents said no. 

"Y/N. We're about to board. You'll be by yourself. Act appropriately." Your mother hissed. Your father never even spared you a glance, busy helping your sister with her bags. You patiently waited for your boarding group to be called.

You handed the gate agent your boarding pass, smiling up at him when he called you a big kid. From there it was a slow crawl getting to your seat. Thankfully, a helpful woman from the aisle behind your seat was nice enough to help you put your bag in the overhead rack.

You were seated next to a young couple, the woman trying to soothe her partner's fears. You tried to be good and ignore them, pulling your teddy out from your carry on, but you couldn't help it.

"I've flown so many times Stef. Look at me. I'm still here, yeah? Nothing is going to happen." The woman tried to joke. It was clear that 'Stef' wasn't soothed in the slightest as he nervously glanced around. You felt bad for him.

You remembered your first time you flew without your parents near you. It had felt really scary. You still hated flying, but you had gotten a little used to it. You debated with yourself for a minute before eventually turning to the couple.

"Excuse me?" They turned to look at you, the woman smiling.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Stef asked. He mustered up a nervous smile for you and you gingerly held out your teddy bear.

"You can hold onto Teddy if you're scared... he helps me when I feel like that." You offered. Stef gently took your bear, which made you feel a lot better about letting him borrow it. He was being so gentle with it, carefully inspecting it.

"Thank you so much. It's clearly a very special bear." He said, placing it on his lap. "I'm Stefan, and this is my fiancee." 

"I'm Emma. It's a pleasure to meet you sweetheart."

"I'm Y/N." You introduced yourself. The safety video started to play on all the screens and you took that as an opportunity to double check your carry on bag was out of the way under your seat and that your seat belt was pulled tight.

Soon enough, the plane slowly rolled away from the gate, slowly moving towards the runway. Despite having watched you check your seatbelt, Stefan leaned over to double check it for you before checking his own.  

Emma smiled lovingly at the both of you, gently taking Stefan's hand as she looked out the window. Stefan tucked your teddy into the crook of his arm before offering you his open hand. You took it, trying to push back a sudden rush of sadness. No one had ever held your hand during takeoff before.

As the safety video finished, there was another minute of tension as the plane finally pulled onto the runway. The plane accelerated, faster and faster, as it lifted into the air. You shut your eyes at the feeling, trying to breathe and not panic.

The plane soared over the airport and the city below. Stefan, who was holding onto you tighter than you were him, finally cracked open his eyes. Emma smiled at him, ruffling his curls before returning to looking out the window. 

"Thank you Y/N. Your teddy helped me a lot." Stefan said, finally releasing the bear. You hugged it as you lay back in your seat. Your happy mood was squashed by the memories of being alone. After all, it wasn't like after this flight you'd ever see Emma or Stefan again.

"I don't believe I ever asked you where your parents are, sweetheart. Are you all alone?" Emma asked. You shook your head, frowning deeper.

"Not alone. They're sitting somewhere else. With Poppy." You muttered.

"Poppy?"

"My little sister." You hugged your bear tighter, trying to distract yourself. You missed the look Emma and Stefan shared with each other. Stefan took a deep breath before reaching under his seat for his carry-on bag. 

From the bag he withdrew some snacks and some candy. He offered you some, giving you a gentle smile.

"You shared your bear, so it's only right that I share my snacks. Here." You gingerly took some of the candy, turning away so he couldn't try and take it back from you. It was something you had to do often around Poppy and your parents. If you had something and Poppy wanted it you were forced to give it to her.

Instead of questioning you further, Emma navigated the small TV in front of her. She decided on a show that drew your attention when you had finally turned back around. When she noticed you watching, she smiled, waving you closer.

Eventually, after a lot of coaxing and reassurance, you ended up in her lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around you, and your teddy bear, as you both watched. 

Eventually, Emma soothed you enough for you to doze off, falling into a gentle sleep. When that happened, Stefan reached into his carry-on for the small blanket Emma recommended he pack for the plane.

They carefully tucked it around you, making sure you were nice and warm. You looked adorable with your teddy wrapped up like a burrito. But now that you were asleep, they began to talk.

"They're adorable." Stefan whispered, brushing some stray hair out of your face.

"Mhm. The most perfect child..." Emma trailed off, holding you a bit tighter.

"It's sad. They deserve better..." Stefan said. He was replaying what you'd said about your family in his mind.

"They'll get it." Emma said with a smile, gazing down at your peacefully sleeping face. 

"How can you be so sure?" Stefan asked, adjusting the blanket.

"Because we'll give them better." Emma stated. Stefan had to do a double take.

"What?" He asked. "We can't take them! That's kidnapping!" He hissed quietly, glancing around to make sure no one else had heard that.

"Stef, you do remember who we're going to meet, right? My family. Trust me, we have many connections. We hold a lot of power. If I wanted to hypothetically adopt a child I saved from neglectful parents, I can in a snap of my fingers." Stefan nervously glanced between you and his fiancee.

He thought long and hard for a long time before sighing. He wanted to fight back and say it wasn't right, but more than that, he wanted to help you. At least with himself and Emma, you'd be in a nice and loving household. You'd never want for anything, and you'd have doting parents.

Maybe taking you would be for the best...

—⁺��°ʚ🧸ɞ°⁺˖—

You woke up from your nap with a sleepy yawn. You still had a couple of hours before the plane would land. It was dark outside, and most of the lights in the plane had been turned off. Stefan was watching some show on the TV in front of his seat while Emma was scrolling on her phone.

It was quiet, minus the hum of the engines. It seemed almost everyone was sleeping or minding their own business. You yawned, snuggling further into the warm blanket. Emma noticed you were awake and smiled down at you, setting her phone aside.

"You must be hungry. Here, I couldn't finish the food I ordered." She whispered. She handed you the half eaten airplane food that had been abandoned on her tray along with a half finished can of Sprite.

While the food was lack luster the soda was entirely new. You'd never been allowed to have soda before. When you told Emma as such after your first sip she gave you a sad smile. You happily finished the soda before being tucked back in.

You let out a yawn, cuddling back into Emma's arms. It was so warm and you were still so sleepy. Besides, you had hours until the plane landed, it would be fine to sleep for a little longer.

You drifted off to sleep once again, content and warm. Emma took a quick selfie of the two of you together before peeking over at Stefan. He was also dozing off, something that made her smile. She had such an amazing family...

She was also very happy Stefan had decided to bring along his heavy-duty melatonin for the trip.

—⁺˖°ʚ🧸ɞ°⁺˖—

"We hope you enjoyed your flight!" Finally the plane had landed, just after 4 in the morning. Emma yawned as she stood up, cradling you in her arms. You were due to be out for a while longer. She passed you onto Stefan once he had a good position with his own bags.

She took your carry on from under your seat as well as your suitcase from the luggage rack. She only had her carry on, as both hers and Stefan's suitcases were checked. They both exited the plane, easily walking right past your old family. After all, your parents were looking for a child by themselves, not one being carried by their parents.

Emma led Stefan over to where a few people in suits waited by the gate.

"Stefan, these are some people my parents sent to escort us. They'll be expiditing our way out of here." She explained. As they were led away, two of the individuals stayed behind. They were the ones tasked with staying behind to deal with your old parents, either with bribes or with force.

It was after a fast tracked security process that the three of you were escorted to a fancy car with a waiting chauffeur. Emma took you back from Stefan as the car took off, weaving out of the airport pick-up area.

By the time the car arrived outside a large home, the sun was beginning to rise. An attendant opened the door for them, leading them to a medium sized bedroom upstairs. There was a small air mattress set up on the floor, but it was covered in expensive and soft blankets. 

"Your parents apologize for not being here to greet you and your fiancee... and child. They also send their condolences for being unable to procure a bed of adequate size for the child." The maid explained. "Their flight arrives around lunch time. Your siblings will also be flying in later today."

"It's alright Tracey. Tell mom and dad we're fine, okay?" Emma smiled. "I think we'll probably be sleeping for a while, so please keep it quiet."

"Of course, Miss Emma. Welcome home."

—⁺˖°ʚ🧸ɞ°⁺˖—

You woke up warm once again. At first, you thought you were still on the plane, cuddled close in Emma's arms. After all, you were still surrounded by soft blankets, and your teddy bear was held tight in your arms. 

But the only sound you could hear was the faint chirping of birds, not the hum of an airplane. Something was wrong here. You slowly uncurled from the blankets, trying to untangle yourself enough to sit up.

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes as you looked around an expensive, unfamiliar bedroom. Where were you?

The room was spacious. The mattress you were on was tucked away in a corner, next to a larger bed. You were covered in the softest blankets you'd ever felt and your teddy was there too. A few stray rays of light streamed in through a crack in the curtains.

You stood up as quietly as possible, shaking off the remaining sleepiness. The mattress wobbled a little under your weight and you had to lean on the wall to steady yourself. Your mind felt a little foggy as you stumbled off the air mattress, taking your teddy with you.

You, somehow, managed to stumble out into the hallway without waking up Emma or Stefan, who were asleep in the bed. It was sunny, but the kind that happens in the late afternoon. The hallway was grand, lined with artwork and smaller pedestals of art.

Your sleep addled brain hadn't quite placed where you were yet or what happened, mostly due to the melatonin you had been drugged with. Your brain was working slow, and some signals were being processed too late. It was why you found yourself being picked up before you registered you weren't alone.

"Aren't you just the most adorable little one?" A man's voice said. The first thing your brain was able to process was that he looked similar to Emma. He had the same eyes but his hair was blond while hers was black. He gently carried you further down the hallway, smiling down at you.

"When Emma texted telling me she was adopting a kid, I didn't think you'd be this adorable. Then again, Emma has always had an amazing eye for sweet things." The man seemed content just talking to you, even if you weren't responding.

"Ah! But where are my manners? While I know you, you don't know me. I'm Alexi, Emma's father. You can just call me grandpa." He said with a smile. He stopped walking in front of an open door. The room inside was a fancy living room with a grand fireplace. He sat down on the couch, letting you rest on his lap. 

The drugs must not have worn off enough because soon enough you fell asleep again, holding your teddy close.

—⁺˖°ʚ🧸ɞ°⁺˖—

It was half an hour later when Emma burst into the living room, looking around frantically. Her hair was messy and her clothing was disheveled. When her eyes landed on you, peacefully dozing in her father's lap, her entire body relaxed.

"Good afternoon father." She said, her breathing starting to even out from it's anxiety induced pace. 

"I found this little one wandering the halls looking half asleep. The poor dear was out like a light within five minutes." Alexi said with a smirk. He didn't protest when Emma plucked you off his lap, holding you close. "Your siblings should be home a little before dinner, so try and have the little one up for that."

"I'm sure they'll be awake by then." Emma said, gently bouncing you in her arms. You let out a sleepy groan at the movement, waking up a little. You glanced around the room with squinted eyes before resting your head back against her shoulder.

"Your mother has stepped out, and she's probably buying some toys and outfits for them." He warned. 

"They'll be one of the most loved and spoiled kids on the planet, that's for sure." Emma said, adjusting your head with a smile. "But they'll deserve it after what they went through to get here."

—⁺˖°ʚ🧸ɞ°⁺˖—

That evening you met your new family for the first time. That evening marked the start of a new chapter of your life, one you tried to resist at first but felt too good to fight against. Everyone loves to be loved, right?

Who knew it would all start with a very very loved teddy bear?

[stitchposts]

okay but can we SEE the project that makes experienced crafters lose their shit every time?! assuming you haven't posted it already and i somehow missed it

if you want obviously. love your blog! :)

lmao I haven't posted it on purpose. It's mostly the tote bag I referenced in another ask, along with the other totes I keep folded up inside of it because I live in a city and there's a bag ban at a lot of stores. I know I've posted my dragon vest on here and it's incredibly identifying, but my tote bags are also pretty distinctive and I don't really like the idea of being so easily identified in public.

The other thing that impresses other crafters is that they are my everyday carry bags - I use them for groceries, takeout, errands, etc. I set them down in the dirt or on the floor of public transit. So when someone notices them and the pieces fall into place, I can flip them inside out so that the guts can be seen, and my linework in particular is tidy on the back as well as the front. You need neat linework to pull this off too, otherwise the backs would snag on anything you set inside the totes.

My mentor hates that I do this and snarks about it every chance she gets. She understands my approach to it and that I love my stuff to be used, but that I spent tens of hours making them, made them look good, only to get them covered in pizza grease and crushed berries, makes her need to close her eyes and count to ten.

[carmenized-onions]

It’s been a little while since you’ve posted on here so I hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself!!! 💖

my darling loves, I'm so sorry

I'VE BEEN SO EMBARRASSED. I HAVEN'T WANTED TO SHOW MY FACE AROUND THIS TOWN BECAUSE I'VE GOT NOTHING TO SHOW FOR MYSELF AFTER TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME AWAY FROM YOU ALL.

I've been. violently busy. in a good way, mostly. One of my jobs is the best job in the world and the other one is such a bitch it makes me scream every day forever.

but i'm also spending time with friends and enjoying life !

My mom also finished her last chemo appointment just a few weeks ago!!! YIPEEE!!!! Her CT Scans look GOOD!! so no chemo for the foreseeable future. She's unfortunately got the type of cancer that doesn't go away, but at the very least, it's MANAGEABLE. And that's a huge win. I'm very very grateful.

I ALSO FOUND A THERAPIST!!! gone to 2 sessions so far. every session she uncovers a new fucked up facet of me and honestly, can anyone else relate to this, it's sort of nice for someone else to look at your life and go like "oh wow. oh wow there's like. there's like so much here." like it feels good to think oh hurray. i'm not crazy. life IS fucked!

MY BROTHER MOVED!!! this took up a lot of my time, honestly. i love him and my nephew and my sister in law dearly. so i spent a long time making their gifts. i'm silly.

OUR CAT GOT SICK!!! HE'S GOT PEE CRYSTALS CAUSE HE'S OLD!!!!! HE'S DOING OKAY NOW THOUGH!! HIS STUPID URINARY FOOD IS SO EXPENSIVE THOUGH!!!

ANYWAYS. those are my major life updates right. So what's with the no chapter happening??

i. hated. the draft i'm working on so much. that i didn't work on it for like. a month.

and then in a haze. i left myself this voice to text note in my notes app as i was falling asleep one night.

then i hated that too. a week passes. perhaps two, actually.

i finally gain the courage one night to read my draft over.

it's actually not bad at all

it's actually pretty good

some scenes definitely need reworking but that's because i need to fully realize some character feelings

I just had really intense writers' block and fatigue, honestly. But i'm finally writing and EXCITED about it, again. I'm pulling that shit up on my commute and writing whenever i can. which makes me really happy. i was not loving the way it felt like a chore, for a minute there.

that said.

100% going to be more realistic with this chapter waiting timeline, and put a 'hiatus' or some sort of 'delays' tracker on my landing page. cause like. i keep saying check back in 2 weeks. and that's not fair to me or you girl. let's keep it real.

i think we're like.... hm... 50-60% there. (i'll update my landing the day after this post, it's late and i'm eepy)

i MIGHT write some blurbs in the mean time, it really depends. i keep having ideas and then they blink out of existence. perhaps send ideas. i might do something with them.

BUT YES I AM OKAY AND ALIVE. My silence came from a LOT of life stuff getting in the way and also a lot of honestly embarrassment. i hate coming out here over and over and being like haha. i've got nothing <3

but i know that y'all will understand, and i need to trust in y'all's patience more. and i'm GONNA!!!

gonna try to start up my 'answering one ask a day' trend again. except wednesdays. i work late on wednesdays so fuck that. but perhaps all the other days you'll hear from me.

alright. i'm going to shut up now. was any of this coherent? i don't know. thank you for listening!! i missed you dearly!!

[xxplastic-cubexx]

tablet died right when i finished that wanda doodle but i still wanna doodle what if i ended it all

[ganondoodle]

been sitting at my desk for 3 hours just trying to decide if it would be better to draw or to write on the totk rant document, not doing either

[fancylala4]

“Blah blah blah I want marvelous to change things up little! Blah blah I don’t want them to go back to what it used to be. Blah blah sdv was made by one person and I put in more hours into that game than I did with rune factory 4 and story of seasons ever did!”

Good, go play that game instead of whining about sos/rf games not being like it on the fucking sos/hm/rf forum for the 100th time. Not everyone likes that game (I hated every single thing about sdv) and wants sos/rf to be exactly like that game.

I know I say this many times before but I will say it again. Sos: poot did change everything up and guess what? Everyone in the community hated that game. So much that they are worried that the next game is just like it. The last thing this company needs is to further alienate their audience by taking out and changing things that made them love the franchise.

[gemini-queen42]

Mini Batb: OTH lore dump + doodle :]

So, in Other Than Human Lumiere is both the maitre d' & Princess Eve's ballet teacher- [In-depth explanation/story bit under the cut]. Maestro Forte gets involved via playing the music to be danced to when he can (sometimes there's other people, other instruments- the ballet practices kind of evolved/ get worked out to be these mutually Beneficial practice times)(kinda cool) But Forte is the one who gets most involved with it, and That is the beginning of Lumiere & Forte's.. very strained (questionably) amicable... acquaintanceship...

[I know, I know- Forte's expression isn't giving what it's supposed to... this kind of overall isn't giving what I wanted it to but I'm not. fixing it today so. sorry lads hgjdgk]

[I vaguely refferenced an art piece of ballet dancers from the rococco era for Lumiere's fit and.. mmm . hmm. hrm.]

the way Lumiere became Eve's ballet teacher went something along the lines of this:

little Eve has suddenly become Very Insistent that she MUST learn Ballet ASAP. In fact, she demands she must start lessons Tomorrow at the Latest. Thing is, they don't exactly have a qualified ballet teacher just.. on hand. The princess has expected lessons in ballroom dancing and whatnot but Ballet isn't exactly among that repertoire. And the hiring process is a very thorough one, which especially cannot be properly completed by tomorrow morning starting on short notice this very afternoon (This is the staffing of a Castle, after all- and Cogsworth is a man very dedicated to his job).

Eve doesn't take no, Cogsworth doesn't sacrifice quality- there's a bit of a stalemate. luckily Eve has never learned to be subtle about anything in her entire life and is very, very loud with her displeasure. Usually that's not a postive, but here it's what allows Lumiere to take notice and inquire on what's got their petite Evie so worked up today- and thus learn of the situation.

L: "Well- I could teach her."

C: "...you know ballet?"

L: "Well, I'd sure hope so- I spent my teen years as a professional ballerina."

C: "And what of your duties as Maitre d'?"

L: "Ah, mon ami- you worry too much~ It's only temporary, non? For until you find an actual teacher to hire" (Implied: or until Eve loses interest)

The plan was that Lumiere would serve as Eve's dance teacher temporarily as a perfect solution to satisfy the princess while giving Cogsworth time to be his meticulous self with finding someone who could do it full time- (should this be more than a passing whim of the girls') Of course, that's not how it goes- Time passes, more pressing matters occur for the majordomo, Lumiere has little troubles operating all her duties, Eve & Lumiere work out a good system for them- yippee!

Now lets talk about Forte's Role in all of this:

Forte is our favorite internal Bad Influence. Somewhere on here I've discussed before how a lot of Eve's views were shaped by forces & people that are outside our main servant cast. Forte would be one of those forces and likely the Most consistent.

Forte is the type of guy who thinks "I am more skilled than you, and thus I am Above you." He desires power, and renown, and respect, and not to deal or do things he considers beneath him.

Perhaps the only reason he so easily complies with the whole ballet situation is because the songs are classic, respected things. And often times, he can play what he desires instead- times more focused on the art of creating & matching choreography to the music. That, and it's for the princess.

He is, in a sense, a perfectionist in nature- at the very least, he is one when it comes to criticizing others.

Eve included- although he frames it as something friendlier, as "advice". And Forte's opinions are very much- All the things that feed into all the toxic ideals, behaviors, & issues that ballet has a history of! The pursuit of perfection, perfection down to the bones, perfection that Breaks people.

All the ideas that Lumiere is being SO CAREFUL to keep Eve from falling into- because she's seen what that's done to people. and the princess, with all her flaws, has become like a little sister to her- and even if she wasn't, Still!- but the slope is a subtle one in its beginning seeds, hard to detect if you're unfamiliar- and so Lumiere can't do much to call Forte out on it. Because nothing he says is Blatant enough to do so.

So Lumiere just has to try and counteract it, and hope that either Eve takes her word over Fortes- or Lumiere will notice if things go south.

Except- well, Lumiere is also the maitre d', so she can get busy- and, well, she doesn't really need to be there if Eve is Just Practicing- and.. well, often Forte is there as well, without Lumiere there to respond- and..... Eve can be surprisingly sneaky for certain things.

It is a battle lost and proven to be when the Enchantress makes her entrance, and Eve can hide nothing as The Beast.

There is an undercurrent of guilt, in Eve's mind when she'd blatantly disregard Lumiere's words.

There is an inescapable guilt, in Lumiere's mind when she's realized how she's failed the girl.

[This post feels messy overall so if there's any bits that are hard to read/you don't understand let me know & I'll try to explain/fix them<33]

[reborrowing]

siblings and secrets (Stranger Swap)

For GT July - Secret

I live on the west coast! I have 15 minutes left of day three!!

Hollow secretly checks in on his outcast younger sibling when he has the chance and finds out Val has been keeping a much more dangerous, exotic secret from the local borrower colony. Word Count: ~1800 content warning for fear and hand stabbing, I guess. Stranger Swap main post

Hollow snuck along the attic rafters to the far east end of the apartment complex. Whenever he was supposed to go out and meet with traders, he got up early to run this errand first. He didn’t think anyone had ever noticed. Val certainly hadn’t, even though it was Val that he was checking on.

He dropped down and followed a pipe to the cavity overhanging the kitchen. It was a comfortably cramped space, kept at a good temperature by an overhead duct and had easy access to both a water pipe and the most important space in the inner apartment. Some day he or Chai or someone was going to have to talk to Val about installing real security, but for today he just took advantage of how easy it was to get into the loft.

He slowed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Val had left an electric tea light flickering on the table. A cap full of crushed mint gave a pleasant smell to an otherwise musty space. The pantry shelves were satisfactory, though the contents were bland. No perishables, nothing too fresh, and not particularly balanced, but Hollow wasn’t concerned with any of that. He wasn’t trying to ensure his sibling was living in luxury, he just wanted to make sure the runt was keeping themself alive.

In the next room over, Hollow had expected to find his sibling curled up in the corner, given the early evening hour but the bed was empty. His hackles rose as he swept through the loft more carefully, checking every nook a nervous borrower might choose to curl up in. He found Val’s  bag slung over a cork stool and a knotted harness hanging on the wall, but no Val.

He tried to convince himself that it was nothing to worry about. Val didn’t need to be home, they were free to live life on their own weird, daytime schedule if they wanted. But Hollow had a gut feeling that he couldn’t ignore, that something was wrong. It had been just a few months since Val had said they’d been discovered, hadn’t it? Those tenants had left, but what if it had happened again? Or worse.

Hollow followed a stapled ladder down into the apartment and squeezed through a hole carved into the back of the cupboard. The sounds of the apartment grew less muffled and he paused. Someone was home, he could hear them chattering and moving around. They weren’t close, but they were here. It would be smart to simply come back later once the lights were off. But he was already here on the wrong side of the complex, and he had other plans for the night that he couldn’t put off without someone asking what he was up to. And he’d gone dumber places to do dumber things, really.

He picked a careful path through the cupboard. It was such a tightly-packed mess that it was difficult to maneuver through, even at Hollow’s size. He wove around haphazardly balanced packages towards the door panel and forcefully shoved his shoulder against it to get the latch to disengage.

He froze as the conversation in the apartment picked up again. The voices were still distorted, but they were much louder. A large shadow passed over the thin line of light where he’d cracked the cupboard open and Hollow drew back. How had he missed the footsteps drawing so close?

“Seriously, it’s not that hard, I promise. Kids do it, you’ll be fine” a woman said.

“You bought a fire extinguisher after last time.”

Hollow’s stomach sank. That was Val. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but that was Val’s voice. They didn’t sound afraid or hurt, at least, but that only mattered so much. Too much of anything was dangerous. And humans were too much of everything. Even their kindness could smother and crush.

Not to mention that the colony would probably kick them out of the complex if they found out Val was breaking the main rules again.

The woman with Val laughed.

“I should’ve had one before! But besides, this is basically just boiling water, you can’t mess it up. It’s barely even cooking,” the woman said.

“You said that about the eggs.”

“And now I’ve had second thoughts about how much you’ve never had to know, and came up with something easier.”

A set of fingers dug behind the door just below and Hollow staggered back into the mess of the cupboard. He dove into an empty space as light flooded into the compartment. In his rush, he tripped over a bag of chocolate chips, sending a box overhead teetering and crashing into the newly opened space where the human stood.

Val grunted and Hollow automatically leaned forward with concern. It wasn’t enough to get himself seen, but thought he could steal a look at the tenant and what the human might be doing with his sister. At first, all he saw was a downturned head of curls.

“Sorry! I keep meaning to clean that out, especially since…well, you,” the woman said.

“It’s fine,” Val sighed.

The face tilted back up to scan the cupboard and Hollow jerked backwards in horror. It wasn’t just the idea of being discovered, he was still sure that he hadn’t been seen. It was…His thoughts kept shattering before they could finish the very impossible thought.

He knew that face. He recognized it. Or, flashes of it, because it refused to add it up to a whole. The dark curls, the angle of their jaw, the tawny skin, the unusual golden eyes. Their mothers’ nose, the same shape as Hollow’s own. 

As he edged further into the shadows, his elbow rubbed against the same bag he’d tripped over a few seconds ago. The rustling sound was soft, barely noticeable. Those golden eyes flicked right towards it. Right towards Hollow. His heart skipped a beat as they focused on him and flashed with recognition, then shock. The two stared at each other without moving for several long seconds.

“Hollow?” whispered the thing that looked like Val.

This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t possible.

This wasn’t worth getting caught over.

Whatever had actually happened to Val, whatever this thing was, Hollow would deal with it at another time. He bolted and if something wasn’t between him and his escape, he didn’t care to think about it. He went much quicker now that he didn’t care about knocking things over or making noise.

“Wait!”

Humans’ speed was always surprising, given their size, and Hollow could swear that this thing was even faster. They hopped onto the counter for better reach. Massive shadows danced overhead as they tore apart the contents of the cupboard.

“Woah, hey! What’s hollow? What are you doing?” asked the woman he’d heard earlier.

“There’s someone in there,” they answered as they dragged away a plastic bin that had been just in front of Hollow.

Hollow stopped suddenly, his stomach twisting with dread. They weren’t ripping away pieces of cover at random. They knew where Hollow was going. They knew more about how to get back into the walls of this unit better than Hollow did and they had a good headstart getting to them.

“Hollow, I won’t hurt you. It’s just me,” Val said softly.

They could hardly be just anything if they had figured out how to turn themself into a human, let alone just Val. He didn’t want to know what someone would have to do to become such a monster.

“You know them?” the woman asked.

“We’re siblings,” Val said.

There was a pause.

“They live here too?” the woman asked, sounding guarded.

“Not here-here, no, but closeby. I don’t know what he’s doing here,” Val said. “Hollow, could you please at least answer me? Can we talk?”

Several seconds passed. Hollow felt his throat drying out and swelling shut, he couldn’t imagine what he was supposed to say. The two weren’t close anymore. He didn’t know how he was supposed to reconcile his memory and mental image of timid, fawning Val with the giant standing in the apartment. He grit his teeth and tensed to try and keep himself from trembling.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Val said.

Too late, Hollow realized that it was a warning.

His stomach lurched as Val’s fingers wrapped around the box behind him. He panicked at the idea of being exposed, at being grabbed again, and rammed the blade of his prosthetic into the nearest finger.

“Ow! I’m not grabbing you, shithead, just the—you don’t have to stab me!” they snapped.

They flinched backwards, yanking Hollow off the stable floor of the shelf before he could manage to free his blade. He smacked against the side of the box as Val knocked it over. He landed against a paper bag that showered him in a cloud of sugar for a few dazed seconds. Val—it wasn’t fair—runty Val had just flung them across a cupboard. Reflexively. His chest tightened as he pushed himself back up to run while they were dealing with their hand.

“He stabbed you? Are you okay? Is he okay? Oh my god, you’re bleeding!”

“No kidding!” they hissed.

Hollow risked a glance back. Val pressed on the wound with their other hand, graciously giving him the space he needed to make it to the hole in the wall and escape. Val took a breath and squeezed their eyes shut for a moment to keep their temper down.

“I’m fine,” they said. “And he’s…shit, stop! Hollow!”

There was a long, defenseless moment when Val could’ve easily grabbed him. That crack in the wall was narrow and it took time to squirm through. His heart hammered in anticipation as he fully expected to feel something clamp down around his legs and pull him back into the light. He flopped safely onto unfinished wood. His heart kept racing as half-expected those massive fingers to try to pry their way into the walls.

He didn’t sit around to wait for that to happen and got up to sprint for the ladder. He stopped to catch his breath once he reached the loft and ended up sinking to the floor in tears as he tried to make sense of what just happened. He had just wanted to make sure Val was safe. He wasn't sure how to answer that now.

The wall of the loft shuddered as something on the other side tapped against the drywall. Hollow slithered in the opposite direction.

Of course.

Of course Val knew where their own damn loft was.

“Look, I don’t know what you're doing here, if you're spying on me or... I get it if you don't want to talk with me like this. Just, don’t tell anyone about this. Please,” Val said.

As if anyone would believe me.

[thecherrygod]

/

[thethingything]

had to lay down. woke up at nearly 7am. got overwhelmed by our sleep schedule once again being fucked because yesterday we actually went to bed at roughly the right time and thought "oh this is great we've fixed it". decided that we're just gonna deal with it and it'll be fine. and then our brain decided that no actually we're gonna have a combination of emotions that's maybe gonna give me another breakdown if I can't figure out how to deal with them but I have no fucking clue what to do with them

[risingsunresistance]

btw. i dont think i'll forget, but Just In Case, i DO have art (nothing crazy) i wanna post for the 16th. but i also have a lot to take care of right before then. so if you dont see it by like 6pm EST please yell at me bc i probably got busy and forgot

[egg2k16]

This may be the depression speaking + the earliest trauma I've ever gone thru (completely accidental as well), but I think it's kinda pointless to give me gifts. I have clothes that still fit me and are in excellent condition. I have shoes. I have a sizeable movie collection (that tbf I can always add to), and all the books I'd want. I don't paint anymore so it's useless giving me art supplies. And unfortunately even giving me money is hilariously pointless bcus I'm not even gonna spend it on anything, I'm just gonna put it into my savings account and keep living day by day as I do: doing nothing...interesting

[arolesbianism]

Thinking abt my dupe ocs again, and I'm returning to my cringe fail silly ones who exist solely for me to have fun. Basically one of the colonies is sort of a lil experimental ground dupe wise where most of the dupes get to have some fun critter biology meshed in there, with most of them being fairly stable, but a few of them having a bit of a harder time for some reason or another. Such as having no bones and the most fragile skin known to dupe kind.

[gorillaxyz]

i dont like rbing murdoc fan art here bc i dont want anyone else to see him... well not really but its sometjing like that

[floral-hex]

So this is my thing now, I’m afraid to go to sleep. This is kinda bullshit, brain.

[paganinpurple]

AO3 Etiquette -UPDATED

Based on both decent and not so decent replies, I have made some changes to my original post below.

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

As well as likes, kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished it, you liked it - so kudos.

If you really liked it, you should try to comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it (so use your notes to say if you want some constructive feedback). Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. No, posting it online is not an open invitation for that. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity and just want to share. Don't ruin that for them. I've seen so many authors just stop writing coz they can't handle the negative emotions the critism brings, and it's only meant to be a fun thing shared for free (pointing out tagging errors is not included in this).

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

The tag exception is if you don't want to tag a million things or spoil your story, you can rate it as "chose not to use warnings," and maybe tag the bare minimum.

Don't censor tags. How can someone exclude a tag if the word isn't typed out correctly? There are no content bans for terms so don't censor them.

If the tags are mostly content/trigger warnings, especially if they are things considered very fucked up or graphic, you might want to use "dead dove - do not eat" to ensure people know that you're not messing around with tags and what they get is exactly what you've warned them about.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLATONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite or an exchange youve written for going public). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Instead of deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - consider making it anonymous or orphaning it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to your name anymore. If you still want to delete it, fair enough.

It's come to my attention that metaworks ARE allowed on AO3, which is something I wasn't aware of. So if you do post an essay or theory, please tag it as such so others can choose to search for it or exclude it. Art is also allowed.

The only reason this archive works is because NON ONE PROFITS. Do not link to your ko-fi or patreon or mention monetary gain in any way or you violate the terms and risk having your account removed. If anyone does link, it leaves the archive open to people claiming it's for profit and having the whole thing removed.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.