#and tango ofc ofc

[sudden-memory-loss]

I can't fucking believe I have work tomorrow, gang. I'm gonna be fucking insufferable; my coworker is gonna be sick to death of me

[applestruda]

I miss them

[quaranmine]

i love watching hermitblr users make like meta or strategy posts about decked out but truthfully it just glides smoothly in one ear and out the other for me. i don't know stategy or cards or shards. im just here to watch my blorbos turn a corner and run directly into a ravager and die with a silly scream <3

[grailknightmonty]

I'm willlin to bet I'm a little late with this but idc have some refs for the Tuff Guy designs I've been usin in my Wild life fanart :D

I wanted to give them a subtle team feel while also keeping to their individual aesthetics as a "team but not" kinda thing, I also really like the idea of them having Life's Tuff as like a patch they wear in addition to the blocks of tuff they carry around as a calling card

[bucket-of-amethyst]

LADIES N GWNTLEMENS: THE CHAMPION 👑

[scarianslab]

Tango saying that his and Impulse’s snails are making snail babies I hate this man

[birodactyloftheblog]

I just thought of a funny headcanon for mt's name.

So you know that bit at the end of the my little pony movie where they find out tempest's real name is fizzlepop berrytwist?

Imagine a scenario like that, where they've been calling him king the whole time, and then at the end of episode 30, he goes "please, just call me by my real name, mango"

And everyone's just like :O!!!!

[spores-and-petals]

Rai's Sketch and Doodle Dump 🍂

OH WOWIE, it's been like a month since my personal (Rai's) sketch dump? Sheesh-

I've been a bit busy with school and other stuff and absolutely forgot to share anything BUT TODAY I BRING ART- kind of. Sketches!

Here's a wild Tango trying to get some hacker ideas down after SOMEONE (Scar) lost his vault key.

NEXT UP! These four are continuation of those small portraits i add to our reference sheets to fill the space on the page <3

(Bdubs, Doc, Etho, Impulse)

((I promise you'll get some full references soon guys :>))

AND THERE'S MORE!

YES THERE'S MORE

(A tiny little Grian from a potential scene)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST-

Them <3

(Grian, Jimmy, and Pearl)

Thank you for coming to this doodle dump from yours truly! I'll try not to forget to post my doodles, I promise!

- 🍂🐾

Oh and here's a complementary Chicken for the wait <3

[laddertek]

Etho to Tango: "I'll sacrifice one of [my shards] if it'll get you running."

Bruh. Etho just spent 8 crowns to get another shard. He has five left. And he voluntarily wanted to give one to Tango so Tango can run. (Tango who has stacks of these in his inventory.)

[sillysnaily]

Last week i was thinking about a ravager design a lot.... have a Tango from my thoughts, next post is also going to be about ravagers :D

[typosandtea]

Tagged for wip Wednesday by @sirmanmister Thankyou!!!

Tagging @gardening--tools @secondhand-lions @romaniwasteland :]

That jerk (deacon, tango does NOT like him, he keeps pranking tango) initiates chaos at the castle by starting a snowball fight with tango before he slips away mid fight once it becomes tango v everyone at the castle..

I’ve been sitting on this sketch of a comic of how blind betrayal happens for tango since they are not sole for a while and don’t remember if I’ve shared this..

Was originally for one of the Falloutober prompts but I am not particular happy with the last panel yet so I haven’t finished it but I do plan on fixing it..

WRITING!!

A first draft of a wip with the working title ‘Tango uh oh spaghettio’ (does not feature actual spagettios) it’s mostly vibes at this point but I’m excited about it. It’s also set like 3 days after the comic!

after a very bad week a caravan brings fresh vegetables to the castle, Tango has an idea for doing something nice for once, but they only have so much patience for the shenanigans that friends like theirs brings…

( I had the thought that the castle's kitchen / any kitchen involving a number of the companions would be like bad roommates..)

About a week after the retaking of Quincy and also blind betrayal.

before the gunners plaza drama (so no slick!)

happens over the course of a day.

avoiding mention of seasons or temperatures cause ?????????????????

tango has become knows as someone who likes to cook at the castle, but also pedantic at the state and order of the kitchen fridges and pantry…

This was suppost to be a dot point outline but it’s a bit long now..

a preview of the ending. tango drunk and asleep, with damaged Armour in a now broken by tangos weight bed, Preston pov. companions in various states of drunk, sleepy or food coma. he is reflecting on the week also but what it means for others and is avoiding thinking about how it affects him..

early morning, tango reflecting on the week from hell, alludes to blind betrayal, AND retaking Quincy with Preston. very violent, but mostly reflects on how this affects them.. tango while ruminating is preforming minor checks and repairs to their armour, lamenting the damage, and noting things to fix / repaint, and a possible new paint scheme

tango is interrupted from their day of repairs by Libby asking them to help unload a recently arrived caravan, (they are not pleased) on the walk from the underground portion they've claimed as a small private workshop (its the least the minutemen can do after tango has fixed more than half the castles electronics) (the castle is reasonably established at this point, not quite a year after the slaying of the queen). they notice that the castles mood is quite dour.. despite the recent victory… they pass Preston, he seems withdrawn after the retaking of Quincy, tango has put the dots together that Preston and the gunner in the armour knew each other before he defected.. tango was present for the showdown between Clint and Preston. And because the general is stressed and withdrawn after a victory that's affecting a variety of minutemen. they almost walk into Libby as they stop to talk tango, yapping about how being injured suck and of duty sucks more and how annoying curie is for them to not be working. tango points out as she grabs a box that doesn't this count as working? Libby goes its finnnnneeee and curie spots them at the gate (i build a gate in from the wall you first enter in from) from across the courtyard, and makes a bline for Libby , Libby is hobbling away but curie is faster and Libby is walking away trying to avoid the earful the curie is giving them.. tango laughs at Libby's misfortune..

tango has chat with the caravaner now that they're the only minuteman here. the caravaner mentions that its a good mix but also some fresh healthy vegetables from Warwick, better wash them well whew!! .. tango says noted but private laughs at the older woman's sense of humor.. tango and some of the caravnaers finish unloading the brahmin (with tango noting how gross they think they are and will be glad when they are out of castles courtyard., even if they do have a pen for the things). polite chitchat from the caravaner and with tango distracted by the thoughts of produce.. caravaner mentions seeing increased deathclaw evidence this side of the city. tango absentmindedly agrees to relay this to the general.

tango tries to find someone to help them put all of the stuff away but everyone seems to have scattered in curie (and impending works) wake.. again they are not pleased about this, but gets to hauling boxes of food, cause food waste is unthinkable and a horrific thing to do in their opinion. they wander to the kitchen with 2 boxes, smugly thinking to themselves how people scatter from their path (prideful bastard), the kitchen seemingly empty, but the lights are on.. problem one: breakfast appears to have happened without them while they were unloading the brahmin.. but nobody has done any dishes and food ingredients are scattered about still.. tango is pissed about this and has a moment of rage. vows to bother Preston about it later when hes not so broody.. they get to work putting the fresh food away in the pantry and the fridge array. (thinking about how that could be improved..). when they return with more boxes they are greeted with a minuteman making breakfast. tango intimidates and wordlessly stares them down when they go to leave after putting their dirty plate on the pile .. the minuteman is young and squirms under tangos threatening gaze.. he squeaks out an excuse for being late to watch… tango just stares harder as they scramble to get away.. the dishes put them in a worse mood but the minuteman scrambling is a nice little 'im still scary >:]' ego boost.

tango gets to work on the dishes and falls in a rhythm, get water and soap, clean dishes till no more space, clean 'hands' with high alcohol cleaner, dry dishes and put away, repeat. when they finished and last of the water is poured out, Hancock turns up for breakfast, (its morning proper by this point). Tango tells him kitchens closed,Hancock is hungover and grouchy, tango is always ready to argue, they verbally fight and tango throws a box of fancy lads at him with a fuck off ive just got here ready. (tango and Hancock actually get along ok, both use murder as a tool and tango has run with WAY shadier characters and ghouls don't bother them)

tango is mentally preparing a list for the idea they've had all morning, making spaghetti dinner for everyone.. so far they've got most of the ingredients for spaghetti (pasta: razorgrain flour, cooking oil, water and eggs?; sauce: lots of Tatos, wine (hm only one bottle left..), carrots, mushrooms, variety of herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage), garlic, onion, meat mince, salt; cheese?? they are NOT using that boxed garbage from blamco and threatens to throw the suggester out.) they realize they they will need to acquire a few ingredients. Eggs, mushrooms, mince, and cheese??? they cant recall this region having cheese.. they realize that they cant get everything on their own in time.. begrudgingly decides to enlist some help.

the help. does a lap around the castle but runs into everyone's scattered. problem from earlier, they are stomping like they are on a mission and cant seem to find anyone (word has spread that they are pissed about the state of the kitchen after breakfast, so they are being avoided) they increasingly mad about not finding people… rounds up curie, with a thankful Libby at the moments peace, until tango enlists them too. also gets a freshly arrived piper, sad danse (bb was a few days ago.). decides against enlisting Hancock since they dont have the patience, and no Ronny since shes busy training. corners the young minuteman who is fearful and prematurely admits to being one of the people leaving to kitchen a mess.. tango is annoyed and surprised, minutemen kicks himself for the slip up. tango recruits them to help.. with everyone now haphazard assembled in the kitchen, tango forms the plan.. piper and curie are to go get some cheese and mushrooms from diamond city, (piper is annoyed as shes just come from DC). Libby and the young minuteman are to acquire eggs from one of the variety of creature nests nearby.. and tango is taking danse to acquire meat.. arguments ensue such as piper suggesting that they use the cheese powder from blamco mac and cheese. tango has another rage moment at the audacity, ruin a good meal with that shit damn >:/ .. piper relents like ooookay (hands up in surrender), curie is not pleased that Libby is working with leg wounds. Libby is annoyed at being cooped up and points out that they are not going far and that shes not alone or helpless. danse is quiet and looks a bit out of it tbh.. curie reins in the arguments like we are running out of daylight and dc is with new missions, people start to split to go..

tango danse and surprise Hancock was eavesdropping! Hancock refuses to be left behind in the hunting, (he recognizes danses kinda lost look.. and is a teensy bit worried that he will do something stupid) danse is not pleased and neither is tango, tango actauly says something, danse just halfheartedly insults Hancock returning to brooding now darker, walks off to acquire supplies (he hasn't yet acquired x01 yet, its been like 3 days.. where does he get it in game) Hancock mentions their thoughts about danse brooding to tango and tango is a bit surprised bc self centered hasn't been checking in on danse much assuming he wanted to be left alone..

piper and curie rush to dc with only a few supermutants and mirelurks in the way. then they find that shops are out of cheese, but they get good amounts of brain and glowing fungus, now its on a cheese hunt.. piper bothers people but has a similar problem as tango of people scatter when they see her coming, (but for annoyed reasons rather than fear) curie talks to takahashi (piper didn't know that she could do that, curie retained robot languages after her transition). takashashi informs curie that the caravan that usually brings cheese hasn't been seen for a week.. piper remembers hearing rumors of a new raider gang trying to set up near the route that caravan takes.. off they go to find them.. city exploring and piper picking curies brain about robotic languages. … turns out that the caravan IS the new raiders and piper and curie get captured … piper picks the lock and they fight (piper doing very well) their way a little bit before they get to the caravan head who is grieving over her sons illness, curie recognizes the illness from the snooping at the door they do, and convinces piper to reveal themselves, caravan boss is quick to draw but doesn't shoot, is quick to insult, piper quips back, curie says shes a doctor and she can help, some fallout medical bulshittery later and son is on the mend, and caravan boss is grateful and lets them go with a whole cheese wheel ..

Libby and the young minuteman are geared up and leaving the gates, wave at the watchman and a broody Preston, who looks a bit quizzical at Libby leaving. the young minuteman grumbles at carrying the basket and Libby grumbles back that at least they can walk without a limp and to slow down damn. they make their way a little further and run into a returning patrol, they converse and Libby asks if anyone's seen some eggs around.. and one of the ghoul guys says well there was this one nest ….

tango danse and Hancock leave the gates in annoyed post argument silence not long after Libby and minuteman.. danse sips canteen as they leave they wander after tango all in brooding for a while, Hancock smoking. tango is interrupted from their tracking by an annoyed (at their lack of communication or tactics) danse who seems to have woken up enough to slip into leader mode tm. what are we even looking for this close to the city.. rad stag avoid they city and you've expressed your vehement distaste at mire lurk in the past, we better not be hunting what i think you're tracking..? (is a teensy bit slurred.. but tango misses it, Hancock doesn't.. important later) Hancock is not sure of what their tracking and sarcastically notes that they thought they were walking in circles for fun, and he agrees with tin can on tone of voice alone that its probably bad news. almost another argument between them. tango loses patience at the bickering and rudely tells them both to shut up so they dont alert the deathclaw.. danse is mad at being right and under prepared for such a fight and Hancock is similarly annoyed.. back to broody silence. hear musket fire not far away and a roar.. rush to gunfire to surprise Libby and Minuteman raiding the death claws nest.. no sign of the deathclaw though…….

they all breath a sigh at the others not being a deathclaw, and both teams ask what the other is doing here at same time.. comment on thinking alike. comments on risk taking and what would curie say if she finds out what Libby was up to while injured.. Hancock suggests maybe they should have a lovely chitchat elsewhere not on top of a live death claws nest.. danse sips canteen.. trooping back towards the castle with caution when the turn a corner and nearly walk into the deathclaw eating some mutants.. oops

deathclaw fight. Hancock gets killing blow with shotgun to the throat.

Libby and minuteman head back to castle with eggs and tango guts the deathclaw with help. danse cuts himself a tiny bit with the knife and tango thinks nothing of it. "ugh partially digested supermutant" tango is glad their wearing a helmet but still grossed out by now having entrails on their arms.. they drag cut and carry parts of the deathclaw back to the castle. including the skull that Hancock wants to clean and keep

everyone back at the kitchen now, curie is suspicious of Libby having deathclaw eggs. task assignments and arguments part 2. Libby is carted off by curie when she shows signs of wobbling nearly immediately.

(remaining: tango, Hancock, danse, piper, minuteman?? I think)

Tango very quickly gets annoyed at too many cooks in the kitchen / people not doing it their way. piper is given task of making the pasta, Hancock the task of preparing cheese, and danse making mince from meat. nobody likes the job they've been given and argue a bit before tango gives up 'FINE" and they swap amongst themselves.. Hancock pastas, piper minces and danse grates. (danse has been quiet for a while…) tango is annoyingly micromanaging. people chant find pots and pans etc. they've been used while they were out / the castle doesn't have them. Hancock shows a bit of skill at making the pasta, piper argues with tango at the futility of real cheese again and this better be worth it got captured again for this.. ('at least I got a story out of it..')

finally assembling implements tango goes to start cooking and discovers the wine gone. piper accuses Hancock and tango agrees til Hancock rebuts that they didn't and that they're both blind to not see that tin cans drunk.. they look at danse. danse does not look at them. he is a bit unsteady. (uh oh self medicating for the last 3 days!!) Hancock is disappointed in them cause piper is suppose to be nosy(snark) and tango is suppose to be tin cans friend(also snark)….. danse still hasn't said anything.. weird silence. is danse even listening? (hes been drinking from canteen all day. canteen was filled with wine and tango cant smell so didn't notice.. ) oh look Preston has been standing in doorway out of view of tango, 'eavesdropping' tango grumbles a bot about nobody knocking anymore once they are surprised by Preston speaking. Preston has also spotted danses self destructing behavior earlier , tango is the only one who didn't .. cause self centered.

Preston encourages dasnse to go clean up (they're all still bloody (except for hand washing) from deathclaw fight and gut. danse resits but does seem to have realized that hes a. caught and b. and ineffective cook .. Preston takes over grating (danse hadn't gotten very far). Hancock has nearly finished pasta, ready to dry for a while. piper has been quiet for a bit but comments on not noticing danse.. shes doesn't know him very well at all and she docent know the details of bb. most people only know that danse has been declared dead and he needs to remain hidden. piper finishes mincing and fridges the mince. she hangs around to chat though. tango has been chopping onion and garlic for sauce. once Hancock finishes pasta he leaves. Preston is also broody but not drink so cheese gets grated well but in silence. piper is trying to get info from tango about danse, tango is increasingly annoyed (they were already annoyed about how things have been going today). Preston advises piper to not pry. Hancock returns with a bottle of wine he had in his bag that he brought with him, gives it to tango. tango is skeptical but grateful. gets to cooking mince with onion garlic spices.

tango gives task of making tatos into liquid and some chopped for the sauce. along with chopping mushrooms and carrots. tango is lost in thought about not noticing danse so isn't hearing the others conversations. tunes back in later when they are ready for tato.

sauce continuous to be made with hushed conversation / piper still trying to gossip. finding no luck she leaves to go see how Libby and curie are doing. once shes gone tango asks how Preston is doing. he says fine (lying) Hancock scoffs. smart ass comment about about himself being king of self hate (Hancock is saying that)

more important chat about Preston . Preston keeps deflecting. sauce is simmering and tango starts dishes. piper walks back in ignoring mood and takes a spoon to taste the sauce (tango is too surprised to react) she comments on it needing more salt. tango stares for a hot second before physically throwing her from the kitchen.. the AUDACITY this is my kitchen and my recipe, they're really running out of patience now. grumbling and muttering about how dare she… etc. Hancock is laughing and Preston does seem to welcome the distraction from this topic (him / Quincy)

sauce is safe to simmer for a while, and Preston seems to be ok after the three of them have been talking for a while (Preston is not ready to open up to anyone about the intricacies and background to Quincy yet) Hancock declares hes off for a smoke (jet) and offers, no takers, shrugs and wanders off. tango and Preston in silence for a bit before tango awkwardly tries to ask is Preston is ok only to be met with a snappy im fine (tango has 2 charisma thats plenty of failed 'checks'). they mentally back off say ok. Preston leaves. they mentally double check the sauce and other things are good to be left for a bit.

tango wanders off to find danse. it takes them a while to find him, he was hiding in the underground section, they pass Hancock lounged on a outdoor chair with some jet, he lazily waves, tango mentally resolves to thank him later (they are terrible at admitting things) and nods back. find danse somewhere relatively hidden and he doesn't want to speak. (shame at being caught 'unfit for duty', shame at himself, lack of self worth and self projected (and drunk) thoughts of well they all hate me more now.). tango isn't very good at hard chats and neither is danse.. very awkward. they both have feelings about things and neither is very good at acknowledging. show some of tangos terrible mentalities about feelings indirectly in this conversation.. danse is actually quite drunk at this point and its starting to show.. half a days hunt with only wine is not good.

tango returns to kitchen to attend to simmering sauce and start pasta process. finds Preston back here stiring, met piper on the way shes still annoyed at being thrown. getting comments on it smells good from people they pass in the halls. pasta being ready to serve. tango, Preston and the young minuteman serving people, like at camp, line style. lots of smells good comments, average mood is much improved by good food. significantly improved by curie revealing they had stashed quite a lot of alcohol at a previous celebration for people were getting to drunk then, brings it out and is looking forward to finally trying it (curie was still a miss nanny when she did that ). makes a face at beer to the delight of the small group actually paying attention to anything thats not food or alcohol.

merryment!!! tango is convinced to drink later by drunk Hancock, slips a drink inside armour and gets drink too. Preston pov? tipsily finally acknowledging to himself that hes been avoiding thinking about Quincy .. introspection?

later evening people food comas, drunk or both everywhere. tango has ended up curled up in a bed and tucked in somehow (they are a face / side sleeper before they were tango / when they forget to lock the armour in default position before allowing themselves to sleep) Libby and danse have somehow ended up on the same couch (danse would not be pleased as hes stilt got A LOT of bos brainwashing to overcome here, its been like 3 days since bb come on.) Hancock can hold his liquor and is lazily patrolling with Ronnie with quiet easy conversation we cant hear.

[applestruda]

:]

[anarchy-and-piglins]

It's pride month now so is this when I can admit I want bdubs and tango to kiss

[distant-velleity]

lmao for the record this is not very... coherent or well-paced but-- it definitely exists so 🙂 yeah!!!

yuhua's book 7 dream in tgtwst (before he gets sent to silver's dream by the System)

(warning for floyu crumbs; explanation of the dream in the tags)

~

“You’re saying Azul wanted to see me?” Yuhua asks for what must be the second time now. He follows Chrysos along the oft-walked path to the Hall of Mirrors, adjusting his winter coat to better shield him from the January chill.

Thankfully, Chrysos has the miraculous patience of a saint, at least when it comes to him. “Yes. Truly, it’s an urgent matter; both he and I agree on that.” 

They enter the hall and take a soft right veer into the alcove for the Octavinelle mirror.

“Of course,” Chrysos says, right before they enter, “if it helps, Floyd is rather insistent that you come as well.”

Something strange flutters in Yuhua’s chest, the beginning traces of a feeling he can’t allow himself to feel. He silently stamps it down, though he can’t stop himself from smiling regardless. “Really, now?”

“And there it is.” Knowingly, the corners of Chrysos’ mouth quirk up in a faint smirk. He gestures towards the mirror invitingly. “Go ahead. You know the route to the Mostro Lounge.”

“Right.”

Yuhua steps through the mirror and experiences the usual weightlessness for the briefest of seconds. His foot finds solid ground again on pale lilac tiling, the reflections of the water from above warped over his shoes. Having walked this route countless times now, it’s through muscle memory that he follows the path to the Mostro Lounge; Chrysos isn’t far behind him.

“Ah, wait—” Yuhua looks behind at Chrysos before he opens the door. “...is it locked? Or—”

Chrysos shrugs one shoulder, a non-answer. “It’s unlocked right now, I can assure you.”

“Really? Okay.”

Yuhua grabs the handle and pulls the door open to see utter darkness inside. He blinks, wondering if it’s merely the effect of his eyes adjusting to the light, but no—only the lights from within the tanks are on, and those do little to make the interior any more visible.

Skepticism sinks into his chest. “Chrysos, are you sure—”

“SURPRISE!” shout a pair—no, a chorus of familiar voices. A burst of magic, a showy effect of harmless sparkles, erupts before Yuhua as the Lounge is once again illuminated. Ace, Deuce, Epel, Jack, and Santiago are right there by the door, their eyes bright.

“Happy birthday, Yu,” Deuce says first, a sincere smile on his face. 

“Ya didn’t think we forgot, now did ya?” asks Epel. He partially covers his good-humored laughter at Yuhua’s face with a fist. 

Jack crosses his arms and looks at the others. “...C’mon, guys. Give him some room.”

Indeed, Yuhua needs it—he can’t quite believe his eyes. Looking past the first-years, he can see the Lounge decorated, not too flamboyantly but not too modestly; he also spots other familiar students gathered around, watching the door or sitting at tables and chatting among themselves.

“I—I…” 

His grasp on the door handle grows weak; Chrysos takes it and makes sure he doesn’t make a fool of himself by letting the door crash straight into him.

“...This is for… me?” Yuhua finally wonders aloud.

Ace snorts at that and shoves a bundle of clothing into his arms. “Who else? I don’t know any other January 27th birthday boys at this school.”

“Um—but I never told you guys my—” 

“Don’t underestimate our combined deductive abilities.” Santiago winks at him, dangling a bolo-style tie around his finger for a second before handing it to Yuhua. “We figured it out just in time.”

“Together? Don’t you guys hate each oth—”

“We’ve learned how to put aside our differences sometimes,” Chrysos assures him, though judging by Ace’s stink-eye, it seems to be a one-time occurrence and nothing better. “And we decided to hold it here at the Lounge as a compromise.”

“But, I…” Yuhua’s mouth remains open even as he falls silent, trying to form questions he doesn’t quite know how to vocalize. “...I… Is this really okay… The Lounge, I mean, and my birthday…”

He doesn’t know quite what he’s feeling, just that the feeling is so immense it stops him from forming coherent sentences. 

“Who else decides if it’s okay or not?” At the imminent approach of a very familiar and very welcome sophomore trio, the first-years scatter like minnows. Floyd easily snakes a hand behind him to place on Yuhua’s opposite shoulder and walks him in. “C’mon, it’s your birthday, li’l Koi! A day just for you!”

“Surely, someone else was—”

“My, my.” Jade hides an amused smile behind a delicate gloved hand. “Are you just going to tell all of these people to go back to their dorms after they’ve already arrived?”

“Come on, now,” Azul agrees. “We were even able to coordinate such a well-timed surprise.”

“Well—” Yuhua sputters, flustered. He hugs the clothes to his chest. There’s a million arguments for his case, but just as many against it. “This is all really impressive, yeah—”

“So there we got it!” exclaims Floyd. “It’s your birthday, and we’re gonna celebrate it. Now, are ya gonna go get changed or what?”

Happiness. Like a soap bubble popping, Yuhua comes to the realization when he looks at Floyd’s infectious smile and feels the warmth surrounding him. This overwhelming, confusing, dizzying feeling—is happiness.

“I…” What is he waiting around for? If everyone’s already gathered… Like a fool, Yuhua laughs at himself sheepishly. “Yeah. Just wait for me a sec, I’ll borrow one of the bathrooms.”

…

“Hold still,” Vil demands, stopping Yuhua as soon as he steps out of the bathroom.

“I—Huh?”

Yuhua stays frozen in his tracks as Vil steps around to stand behind him. Rook takes Vil’s initial place as the housewarden sets to work on Yuhua’s hair.

“Bonjour, monsieur,” Rook sing-songs. 

“Hi, Rook,” answers Yuhua. “Are you also here for—?”

“The celebration? Why, of course~” With a flourish, Rook bends into a bow and extends an open palm forward. “May you have a very happy birthday on this fine day.”

“Don’t distract him while I’m doing his hair, Rook,” Vil says curtly.

“But of course, my Roi de Poison.” Still, Rook smiles at Yuhua in his poetically pleasant, friendly way.

Finally, Vil steps back to appreciate his work. Yuhua, after awaiting the approval of a quick “Go ahead,” gently feels at the braid his hair has been done into.

“Wow, I…” Yuhua turns around. “Thank you, Vil. You didn’t have to.”

“Mm, is that so?” Vil lets out something of an almost-content hum, as usual. “I couldn’t have the birthday boy walking around with his hair the same as his day-to-day look.”

“Your beauty has only been enhanced, monsieur,” Rook declares. “Now, shall we return to the party?”

“They’re all waiting on you,” adds Vil.

“Ah—” 

They’re waiting on him. They actually want him there.

Yuhua nods slowly. “Okay. Let’s go.”

They leave the side hallway to return to the Lounge. Almost immediately, Yuhua catches sight of a certain redhead waving madly at him from one of the tables. It seems like Ace has fervently and insistently claimed himself a spot at the table with the cake, alongside others like Floyd, Deuce, and Chrysos.

“Over here, over here!” calls Ace, earning himself a simultaneous flick to the forehead from Chrysos and a punch in the arm from Deuce. “Ow!”

“Yelling isn’t going to make me get there any faster,” Yuhua retorts, though he’s still laughing when he squeezes in to sit between Ace and Floyd. “I bet you just wanna eat the cake already.”

“You’re pretty greedy, Crabby,” agrees Floyd, just to get a jab in at the first-year.

“Hmph.” Ace grins mischievously, neither confirming nor denying. “Maybe I just wanna know what the birthday boy’s gonna wish for.”

The candles on the cake flicker. It’s just a birthday wish, and it doesn’t mean much. Not much is riding on it.

“I don’t really—” Yuhua pauses, and then huffs a laugh. “Yeah, like I’d tell you. That ruins the whole point.”

“Aww,” whines Ace, batting his eyelashes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously, you dork.”

“What about me?” ventures Floyd, a shit-eating smile on his face.

“Come on.” Yuhua rolls his eyes affectionately. “It’s supposed to be a secret. That means I don’t tell you guys until it comes true. And it’s not that big of a deal anyway—I bet you can guess what it is pretty easily.”

That seems to appease them into staying silent, each thinking about what it could be.

…Again, it’s a wish that doesn’t mean much. With nothing too big to relegate to a birthday wish but nothing memorable enough to immediately ask for, Yuhua more or less has to make it up on the spot. He takes a deep breath before he silently thinks—

I hope I can celebrate my birthday like this again in the future.

—and blows out all the candles in one clean exhale. 

Ace whoops, and somewhere in the Lounge the sound is repeated. Cheers and clapping, from the people celebrating for the sake of it  and the people who want food, echo through the room. “Alright! Now the party’s really begun!”

“I want the first slice of cake!” Floyd insists abruptly.

“No way. It’s mine!”

“Huuuuh?”

“Hey, you two, don’t fight in the middle of Yuhua’s party—!”

Chrysos leans over the table to Yuhua while the other two bicker and Deuce tries to play mediator. “You’re giving it to me, obviously. Right?”

Yuhua sighs, meant to sound long-suffering but instead reflecting his muffled giddiness. “You guys…”

…

Once the food is eaten and the gifts are given, Yuhua finds himself sitting on a stool by the counter while the others mingle among themselves. 

He isn’t mad that he’s seemingly being neglected, no—because he isn’t. People are still checking in on him: Jamil, stopping by to offer him a hair clip; Idia being nudged by Ortho to make Yuhua aware of his attendance (haha); Riddle personally wishing him a happy birthday before being accidentally warded off by Floyd; so on and so forth.

And people are gathered here because of him. They’re all getting along, making merry because of him, in a way. It feels nice, to see everyone not at each other’s throats for once—to see Azul and Leona talking civilly, to see Sebek and the other freshmen having an eating competition… To have people still asking him if he wants to try this food or play this game with them, and knowing that he can just join in whenever he feels back up to it.

This happiness, that knowledge—they form a pool of warmth in his heart, a pool running so deep that Yuhua thinks he might burst if he does anything other than sit. He’s happy to be here, happy to be a part of the celebrations; so happy to be acknowledged as something important to people. Happy to be more than a thought that fades away once the moment has passed.

He’s happy to belong.

Are you really happy? asks a voice in his head—

“Hey, li’l Koi!” Floyd shouts from a table. “Wanna play a game with us?”

—The easy, obvious answer is an unhesitant yes.

Yuhua smiles and nods his answer. A fluttery, bubbly feeling in his heart fills his veins with excitement as he stands up—

The world spins; his vision swims. His foot doesn’t meet the floor, his stomach sinks, and suddenly he’s falling with all the weightlessness of a dreamer being awakened.

~

taglist (ask to be added or removed): @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @elenauaurs @casp1an-sea @nahelenia

@skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @scint1llat3 @nyx-of-night @nemisisnemi

@sillyslipperybananapeel @beneathsakurashade @kathxrat-01 @lumdays @twistedwonderlandshenanigans

@taruruchi

[galaxygermdraws]

WAAAH I'M SORRY I WAS TRYING TO FIND LIMBO'S CURRENT DESIGN BUT TUMBLR SEARCH IS A NIGHTMARE /lh

-miningroseakira/risingroseart

iTS FINE I STILL LOVE HIS OLD DESIGN. It’s not like there’s that much different, he just has yellow in his new fit

That’s about the only difference really. That and a few palette changes. and yea tumblr search Is a nightmare.

[asterssunzephyr]

Im watching s8 Bdubs.

I love it already.

here's favourite quotes:

"BDUBS."

"Gem?"

"I CAN EXPLAIN."

---

"I would never lie- No I dont-"

---

"*giggling*"

"that unfortunately no one could get across"

"bdubs theres one 4 block jump"

"Yeah & thats impossible!"

"*giggling* its not- *more giggles* its not impos- *cant finish the sentence bc shes GIGGLING*"

---

"YEAH! Gem is great!"

---

"*leaning into his mic* śpœrë błœśśòm"