#at least esker was there aw

[anyne-9]

don't get too lonely out there, 'kay?

[neflil]

For the Detroit: Become Human x Outer Wilds AU Spitzle and I have been working on (along with the help of Cosmo too!!!!) TWs: Injury, blood (although its blue), limb dislocation (its not really visible but just in case), self worth issues, angst Context and details below the cut vv

The Hatchling was made as a replacement for Gabbro, they are perfect in every way Gabbro isn't. They cant feel pain, they have better systems, their vision is clearer, they have a purpose... They don't have to be reset every so often because they are faulty. Delirious Gabbro can only stare in awe and admire everything they are not, and could never be - The Hatchling hears a sound that awfully resembles the cries of a real Hatchling, Gabbro is also missing after their accident. They start searching despite being in a very bad state themselves. They need to retrieve the Android, or at least know its whereabouts no matter what They find the source of the sound, Gabbro. Injured, lying on the ground. They can't listen to these awful sounds they're making anymore. They remember how Esker holds a Hatchling close and soothes them, that seems to work to make them stop. They attempt the same. (Not knowing it'll only hurt Gabbro more in the process.) An AU where androids started being made after Feldspar's death, as a way to replace the lost Hearthian. Little do they know this would only lead in the few Androids to develop feelings and identity issues hdjsahdajs. Closeups + Details: The Hatchlings eye lenses being fully exposed because the plastic that works as "eye lids" is gone. The "Software instability" icon being purple, since the Hatchling has a special Nomai chip and the idle state is purple, instead of the usual blue. Gabbro's and Hatchlings blood being visually different, cus Gabbro is the older model, who needs their fuel cleaned whereas the Hatchling is perfect The things written in the "You were always perfect" wall text is all Gabbro admiring the Hatchling :3c

[archetypal-archivist]

A story in which you eat your fears. Not in a literal way, but in the way of eating to bring yourself comfort. Life is awful and harsh but at least you have food, you know?

A story in which Hatchling gets so miserable and sad that eventually, in a fit of desperation to eat something other than sugar they just... Start shoving stuff into their face. First it's a ship crash that left them stranded on the Ash twin so they hide out in the Timber Hearth tower (Marl's creepy tree room) and out of boredom and misery and longing for home, they start eating pine nuts off the trees. Or rather, a pine cone falls from a tree and bounces off their unhelmeted head and it's the last straw on their misery cake so they have a sobbing breakdown and in a fit of pique, eat the seeds the pinecone was structured to protect.

Only, the taste reminds them so much of home that they end up sobbing even harder, collecting up even more nuts to eat. It takes a while for them to eat anything else, but it is the start of it all.

Next is a bit of Feldspar's jellyfish out of morbid, no more fucks to give curiosity. Then it's a bite of Gabbro's awful charred mallows. Then some of Riebeck's rations, a bit of Ember twin's cacti, some of Esker's weird moon soup.

Over time, it becomes a way to bring comfort and challenge and wonder to the Hatchling's journey again. Can they make something that tastes good from Feldspar's jelly? What about bringing Riebeck some preserved pots and pans from the Hanging city to ask about what the Nomai cooked with them? Gabbro gets dragged into it too, semi-against their will as Hatchling loves the time honored tradition of "Oh this is awful, try some!" They mock-begrudgingly keep trying things though because Hatchling keeps bribing them with new hallucinogenics and relaxants.

As Hatchling travels around eating weird things, they start getting closer to Porphy and Gossan by extension as they go to the former for advice regarding cooking and the latter often has opinions. It's a nice point of grounding and through Porphy's wonder and Gossan's outrage at their unsafe habits, they get dragged into some semblance of being mentally healthy.

Hatchling's last challenge before they pull the core is trying to make sap wine actually tasty.

The structure of the story would start with a good name as each chapter title and a general "recipe" that you may or may not be able to make at home as a "summary" of what the chapter is about. Each food is thematically appropriate.

being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors

[inexplicifics]

Since its mentioned quite often in the consort fic plus the esker side story what exactly does a witcher going feral entail? And what would cause each witcher to go feral in the first place? How do they get back out of it? What sort of behaviours do they display? Much love and light in your days! X

A witcher going feral basically entails them going into a berserk fugue-state. It's unfortunately something Cats can do fairly easily, if provoked - which Cedric and Axel learn the hard way.

Severe injury or threat thereof, or threat or injury to someone very important to the witcher, can be enough; extreme rage can also be a trigger. Cats are the most prone to going feral; Bears are the least. (For which we are all grateful.)

Unfortunately, the behaviors they display are usually "kill everything that moves anywhere near me."

They can be broken out of it by the sight, sound, or scent of someone important enough to them to get through the rage, or by the passage of time, or by running out of things to kill.

Nobody enjoys this. A fair bit of witcher training is how to not do this. And at least in the AW AU, it's fairly uncommon.