#bird banter

[professional-jaywalker]

Avian Expectations

A small essay about the difference between the pop culture Bird and being a bird.

Being a bird is probably one of the most romanced identity. Being a bird means nothing, behavior wise, scientifically. Yet, being a bird portrays something very specific into people's mind.

Being a bird is freedom. It's effortless flight, belonging to the realm of air and never wanting to touch ground again. Being a bird is adventure, migration. A good half of movies about birds are about overcoming the thrilling dangers of going over entire continents in one year, the reward of seeing an exotic haven far from the cold. Sometimes, being a bird is being a strange endearing critter, voice mimicry, stealing shiny things, cuddling up and preening one's flock. Other times, being a bird is a sharp beak and sharper claws and being the Predator from Above, undefeated in the heights.

I've seen a lot of people question birds with that idea of a bird in mind. And, clearly, it can be true. One bird I know is migratory to her very core, the pull of Africa leading her to travel, irresistible. Another deeply intertwined with the drop of gravity as it's ultimate strength, entire biology built to master it.

But I cannot relate to people who go into questioning bird from the perspective of the Pop Culture Bird Homonculus, of this chimera of all the Cool Bird Traits. It seems like a fictional character to me, without all the little details that make being a bird real. Perhaps it is because I break all of these core traits.

I do not fly well, I glide when I must, and more often I run. I much prefer the ground. I am not migratory, and one part of being a roadrunner to me is Territory, and Surviving winter. I've never had the luxury of fleeing the cold, as much as i dislike it. I do not mimic all that much, I am solitary, I hunt by running along the grass. Barely bird, in the eye of the Being a Bird rules.

Rules say, then, i should not relate to being a bird. perhaps being a roadrunner for me would be akin to coyotes. Perhaps it would be akin to cats. But no, i do in fact relate to birds.

As it turns out, there is still a strong difference, for me, between the Being A Bird non-birds imagine and the actual one. I don't fly, i glide, i struggle to get to heights. A heavy sea eagle responded, saying how they felt flight as tool, from perch to perch, to scan for prey, too costly to waste in play.

I say that i hunt on foot, that i do not relate to the dive of the kestrel or the flight of the swift. A burrowing owl answer; saying they too prefer hunting grasshoppers from their height, sometimes perching but often just lurking around the grass.

I say i am alone, i do not have a flock, and a heron responds, why should you ? You are fine on your own.

I have met flightless cormorants, I have met penguins. On the contrary, I have met falcons, I have met corvids. The shapes of birdhood shift and change, but in the end, I tend to find someone for each things, be it bird like or not. Bird is a wide ground. Bird is a simplification, so that others can understand a flawed but easy view.

I am not A Bird, by pop culture definition. Yet i am very much a bird who relates to beings extremely far from me, behaviorally. honestly there's a point of no explanation. I share phantom feathers with them and beaks, but i couldn't be further from a hummingbird. It's a strange conundrum. So close yet so far, every species that talks about it. always slivers of Me-Truth, always things i just gloss over. a bird is not an animal, its a concept. i wish people would take that in account more before diving in it.

[professional-jaywalker]

I had made a post about my relationship with the sun before, but yeah I feel a lot more bird like during warm months.

I don't feel roadrunner like only in summer, but in winter I'm in survival mode almost, so a lot of what makes being a bird fun is replaced by just kinda trying to wait out the shortened day (being a diurnal creature means night is not your friend, and the bird part of my brain really dislikes being active after dark), and cold weather, paired with a lack of prey items (insects and reptiles being mostly gone). Obviously I am a human. I do not, with my current monetary situation, have much of a issue of dying of hypothermia or hunger in winter. But there's still this inherent uneasiness with the colder months that makes the bird side of me much less active. So the human side takes over mostly.

As soon as spring comes back, I tend to feel a surge of shifts and instincts. It's usually the times my nonhumanity feels strongest just by the comparison of the colder months.

And then, once it gets to the end of spring/ early summer, I tend to get nesting related instincts. These vary, I usually just get a stronger urge to court, and more or less only feel a romantic and sexual drive during this period (it can sometimes vary as I'm not truly, biologically ruled by a nesting season, but it's a distinct tendency), sometimes accompanied by the start of nest building instincts. It doesn't usually escalate to brooding, but it has happened once, seemingly due to feeling Validated in my courtship by friends. So summer has a very strong connotation with birdiness for me due to that. It's a very active period with a very specific array of instincts that do not pop up the rest of the time.

And finally in October/November (this year, particularly bad weather has even made me feel it in september), my instincts wane again due to things becoming colder. Human life also starts again, with the university cycle starting and having a lot more human priorities all of a sudden, that make feeling bird like a bit harder. So I tend to associate autumn with human first, although there's usually a decent enough blend of bird and human to feel like an hybrid

I think that alterhumans/nonhumans don't talk too much about seasonal shifts as someone with many kintypes.

for me, weather or a season really affect my experience.

there are types of shifts/or feelings in general I only experience when it's raining, or the ones that only appear when it's snow outside... for example, it's most likely for me to feel more birdy in colder weather, since wearing baggy chlothes/coats make me feel like they're my feathers, and its more likely for me to feel more dragon-y in warm sunlight, where I can feel my scales while sunbathing

in general, when seasons change, so does my experience with everything... sometimes the weather doesn't make me feel like one of my kintypes at all, and sometimes it's the exact opposite

I noticed it recently, in the last 6 months I couldn't really feel my fox side at all, at the point that made me question my identity, i finally figured out that's cause I mostly experience fox-like shifts in autumn-winter!

let me know your experience with seasons/weather!

~Birdie/Hera

[tenojan-in-tevinter]

LUCANIS HAS A PET SNAKE what do you think it's name is? What kind of snake do you think it is? I assume it's venomous so he can use its venom in contracts but idk I think it'd be cool if he just had like. a corn snake or something.

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

🦉 For the bird ask game!

"Careful, Your Majesty," came a voice beside Gil-galad. "You are straying a bit too close to 'obvious' this evening. I advise you let your eyes linger elsewhere, if at least for an hour."

"I beg your pardon, Counsellor Erestor." Gil-galad straightened his back against the uncomfortable throne and willed his eyes to stay on the dance floor. "Where did you say my eyes were straying?"

"I do not know, Sire. Where were His Majesty’s eyes straying?" asked the counsellor. "You need not tell me, but wherever it was, I am only saying that you may want to look elsewhere."

"Duly noted. Thank you."

It took only a moment, a beat in the music and a turn in the dancing before them, before Erestor was speaking again.

"I mean he does look good tonight."

Against his better judgment, Gil-galad glanced to where the impertinent adviser told him not to look.

"He was telling me earlier about the journey. He reports that Númenor is thriving beyond expectations." He paused—for effect, Gil-galad was sure, because Erestor was nothing if not dramatic, however vehemently he denied it. “The fair weather also seems to have given him a good tan."

Gil-galad sighed. "Erestor, I thought you said not to look? That does not help."

"Consider it a test of will, Sire. It is good exercise from time to time."

The old king rolled his eyes. Some days he wondered why he kept this Elf at court.

"You do not think he is too young?" he found himself unwisely asking.

"I think too young is the least of your concerns." Erestor's voice, at least, was thankfully discreet. "He is your cousin, your charge, he cannot give you heirs, and worst, he has atrocious organisation skills and training him in this has thus far been a nightmare."

"Yes, that is indeed the worst of it all."

"But his heart is golden and pure,” continued Erestor, “and he thinks the best of everyone. It is admirable, if a bit naïve, but you can trust no other more."

“Not even you?”

“You think me trustworthy, Sire?”

“Ah. Good point.”

[microcosmtoxin]

i feel like an aesthetic twitter stan account like 🐦‍⬛💉 the first setlist of the rule of three tour has dropped 🏢🍐

[professional-jaywalker]

God I feel this so much.

A lot of birds have pretty long necks, and it feels like most of what I should be able to do is constrained by having a human neck. It's frustrating to put on a beaked mask and realize ah. I can't grab things, neck too short. I cant preen, neck too short.

The whole hunting tactic of roadrunners of bashing prey on the ground is impossible. Looking behind me is impossible how my brain envisages it. It's just So Frustrating.

Yeah.

damn the neck

In my own life a neck is one of the most dysphoric body parts. It's impossible to look up, while relaxing like this:

The neck just squezes into shoulders.

Or to rest my head on my paws:

These *supposed to be natural* movements end with a pain, to the point where there neck meets the back. I sometimes forget about it, do these and then remembering "no, too limiting".

[nostalgia-tblr]

started another fic D: didn't mean to, but i went to bed and then had to get up and write 1000 words (!!) of a sylki alternate s2 fic. i shall put the plot/idea below to ENTICE and so I don't forget it myself.

it's not a fix-it as such i just kept the S2 look and locations and characters (OB!!!) and there is a different stupid scifi thing that needs fixed (and also no sad ending because fuck that).

instead of time-slipping loki was sent back the TVA at the right time and he's trying to fit in there and thinks sylvie will be mad at him and besides how would he even find her in such a huge expanding multiverse? oh no! he daydreams a lot and has some odd moments like forgetting how he takes his coffee, and seems to in some be mentally connected to sylvie in a weird scifi way.

obviously he doesn't do anything sensible like tell mobius, so he sneaks off to ask OB who knows all about Variant Entanglement, which is like quantum entanglement but with less science and more selfcest. OB explains that ALAS loki and sylvie are currently entangled variants, which is rare and OB is very excited to get to see it happen but also he's annoyed that apparently nobody told loki not to touch himself if he met himself. (...not in a euphemistic way, this time, just you shouldn't touch your own variants or this might happen.)

it's gone a bit comedy which i think would be a nice change from writing ANGST all the time (and i need to switch modes for the Con Artists AU anyway), though there is a bit of angst (Sylvie does not like the TVA, of course, and some kind of shipping angst will happen as well) and i think i will add some weird pornographic shared sex dream thing just for the hell of it. not sure how that will work, probably involves what i like to refer to as "a confusion of pronouns."

i think OB fancies Casey in this, so there's a 'subplot' for you i suppose. i don't know how long this fic would be but the roughly 1200 words i somehow have so far (this includes some dialogues that need to be not just dialogue though) have not yet got to the point of sylvie showing up aside from in the opening scene which is a flash-forward because... eh, it is just is. but it won't be that long, surely? (this is what i said about the 8800 word sifki fic too.)

ANYWAY LOOK, here is a snippet for some idea of the general tone, in which Loki meets OB but in a different way from in S2 (ooh!):

“Ouroboros.” The man on the other side of the desk looks up from his work. “Oh hey, a visitor!” “I’m told you’re the man to see if I have a technical problem,” says Loki. “Who told you that?” “Casey.” Ouroboros looks pleased. “Casey remembers me?”  “Apparently so.” Loki drops the document he brought with him onto the desk. “You wrote ‘Towards a New Theory of Variant Entanglement’, considered by many to be the seminal work on the phenomenon.” When Ouroboros opens his mouth to ask the obvious question, Loki cuts him off by answering; “According to Casey.” “Wow, he really does remember me!“ “Why wouldn’t he?” asks Loki.  “That’s what I always ask myself!” Determined not to be put off by the oddness of his potential saviour, Loki tries to push the conversation in his desired direction. “I need to ask you some questions about this paper,” he says. “Sure! Ask away!” After an awkward pause, Loki admits, “I didn’t understand a word of it.” Ouroboros’s excitement deflates a little. “Oh.”  “But Casey - yes, he does remember you, I think he might be a bit of a fan, actually -” “Oh, wow! That’s -” “- says that the answer I need is in here.” Loki taps his fingers on the work in question. “So I was hoping you could translate this for an interested but woefully underqualified layman. Please.”

[professional-jaywalker]

It's kind of interesting to start hitting a time in my life where... i've kind of said most things about my identity at least once, somewhere. Not that i don't have things left to write, reword, say in better prose, or again because the first time was a passing thought in a chat with no archive.

But i'm not anymore, in the phase of joining the community, and rediscovering my every angles and needing to word it. It's mundane now, when I feel something bird-like. It's not a "ah, so that's what it was all along!", it's just me. It's a double edge, because I then sometimes forget how complex that web of experience is.

Today was mundane. I was just me, just a bird. Nothing much to say, from my perspective.

Today, I woke up later than usual. The sun was already up. I'm not used to this, as I usually wake and sleep with the sun, but i stayed up later than usual yesterday. Diurnal, like roadrunners.

Then I was quite pleased to see it was actually quite sunny. I wanted to sunbath, so i took out my bearded dragon in the garden, and sunbathed with her. She took on darker spots to soak up the sun, i wore a black shirt to mimic the patches of skin roadrunners show to do the same.

In the afternoon, I helped my family clean up my grandfather's house. I sent a message to another bird, inquiring whether she, an owl, would be interested in one of my late grandmother's owl statue collection.

I remarked how strange it felt for my neck to not be able to look upward how i wanted to. How bizarre the human activity of cleaning up spider webs felt, my arms-wings-talons straining to reach the roof.

Tonight i'm eating sushi. The raw fish always feel particularly birdy to me, I think it's the sensation of it. If I didn't stop my bird side, I'd want to swallow it whole, as birds do.

It's all so mundane. it doesn't even register as a particularly bird like day to me. I didn't do anything that made me shifty, that brought out the roadrunner in a way that supersedes the human. So many things that I just forget to mention, after a while. Obvious to me and only me.

[presidentbungus]

“Hey, Doc.” Engie’s voice comes from somewhere behind a massive mound of journals, textbooks, and spare mechanical parts—despite the amount of effort he must be putting in to keep the pile from teetering, his voice is smooth and uninhibited, and Medic spends a few seconds pondering his strength. “Got room for another?”

“Well,” he says. Instinct tells him to say no and shut the door and walk away and worry about something else more important to him, like the actively decomposing giganto-rilla organs waiting to be fondled in the back of the lab, but rational thinking tells him maybe it’d be a good thing to be on good terms with some of his coworkers for once and as much as he hates to admit it a little pang of guilt rings out in his stomach when he thinks about letting Engie lug everything all the way back.

He brings himself to say this, even: “I feel like, considering the distance back to the workshop, it would be hazardous not to let you in.”

He’s about to step aside, but Engie just pushes him out of his way and walks through. “Well, you caught my evil scheme,” he says, and he laughs for way too long. “Where can I put all this?”

“Um�� somewhere.” Medic eyes the growing mass of doves circling Engie’s head, like they’re pretending to be vultures, which is very cute and also very, very annoying. “There’s lots of surfaces. Also lots of blood. Be careful.”

“I can’t really see anything but I’m pretty sure this is a table, so I’m just gonna put it here.” Medic doesn’t get to check the counter before Engie sets the pile of books down, and something squelches. They both cringe.

“Oh, well… ain’t that something.”

“Whatever was on the bottom of the pile may, eh, be a lost cause.”

“You don’t clean this room that rigorously, do ya?” Engie snickers. “It’s fine, I’ll live.”

Medic circles around back to his operating station which is most importantly at the opposite end of the room from Engie. He quickly slips off his gloves and starts dissecting what’s presumably some kind of liver, so at the very least he can look busy. “So what did you… eh, want?”

“When you say it like that it’s kind of like—“

Darwin finally gets brave and swoops in to land on Engie’s stupid yellow hat. The spiral-bound notebook Engie is holding goes sailing into the floor, and Medic’s half-expecting to have to break up an interspecies fight like he did with Scout but just watches, mystified, as Engie slowly raises his hands to his head, grinning.

“Oh, I saw these guys coming in,” he muses, an appallingly lopsided grin forming on his face. “Who’s this little fella?”

Darwin pecks the index finger of his gloved hand, quite viciously in fact, and it’s like he doesn’t even notice.

“That’s Darwin,” Medic says, “but I should note that the doves as a group are not especially enthused about being touched by strangers.”

“Darwin? That’s cute.” Engie lowers his hands, faltering. “Well, how do I get him off my head?”

What’s a polite way to say ‘he will get off your head when and only when he wants to get off your head’? “… He has very good balance. Don’t worry about it.”

[karinyosa]

flirting w the online transmasc via the finch self care app

[girl-monkey-odalys]

Hello, everyone! Sorry, I've been swamped with work and life lately, so I've been a bit absent. So if I haven't been "liking" your content or getting your art requests done, it's just because I haven't been here! I'll catch up soon.

Here is the latest chapter from my fic; it only took me five months to get it done! 🙈

Featuring @picapicamagpie's OC, Cadence, and @thecraftedmacaque's OCs, Lilac and Connor, as background characters. ☺️

***

Summary:

Odalys accidentally blows an opportunity to impress Klaus Kickenklober. In the meantime, Mortimer realizes that he has feelings for her. 

Teasers:

“I’m not worried about it,” the arrogant bird answered, “especially because your half of the class will be doing the monkey dance. The monkey dance is easy; all you do is bare your teeth, throw your fists in the air, and jump around.”

Odalys was indignant. “Whatever, Hector, the monkey dance isn’t ‘easy.’ The bird dance is just a bunch of outstretched arms and finger fluttering.”

“I could do the monkey dance with my eyes closed,” the bird said haughtily. 

“And I could out-bird you any day!” the monkey retorted.

“There’s no need to get defensive, Odalys,” Hector began, admiring himself in the mirror as he spoke. “Birds are naturally elegant and gifted dancers. They don’t have to try hard like monkeys do.” 

***

Mortimer thought of how many times he saw Klaus roast a dancer in front of the class for the tiniest mistakes, and here was Odalys, fully accepting someone exactly the way she was. He felt a surge of jealousy pulse through him and was angered to think that a girl like Odalys would love a pretentious snob like Klaus. 

“He’s nothing like her,” Mortimer seethed to himself.

***

Meanwhile, Breck was in the back of the class actively avoiding eye contact with everyone. He was in the middle of a revenge fantasy against Odalys when he suddenly had the uncanny feeling that someone was watching him from behind. He turned around to see Klaus Kickenklober standing near the studio door. He was staring at Breck’s skimpy outfit with a look of utter confusion and disdain.  Breck now lamented his choice to stay in the back of the class, as he was likely the first person Klaus saw. 

--------

[morning-sun-brah]

Hello hello! Bird's Eye View Annon Here!

Sooo...AO3 is still not working for me, but I was TOO excited NOT to post, so here you go! Enjoy!

Will post to AO3 later, when I can get it working!

---------------

The air was a little too crisp. Leo tapped the underside of his hat with his finger, watching clouds gather in the distance. 

“Storm coming in tonight,” he said to Mikey as he leaned on the railing of the front porch, sipping his afternoon tea. 

Mikey sniffed the air. “Oh. Yep, a big one, I think.” He groaned. “Better get the cows into the barn. I was hoping to leave them out to graze a little longer.” 

“I better get the horses in too,” Leo said. 

Mikey turned, giving him a look. 

“What?” 

“You know what,” Mikey snapped. 

“Not you too. I already got an earful from our Dads, Raph, and Donnie.” 

“I know you, Leo,” Mikey laughed. “So I’m not going sit on your ear with all that too, but,” Mikey sobered. “Think about the people that care about you. Is what you’re doing worth it?” He jumped the stairs, landing on the green grass below.

“Oh. Almost forgot.” Mikey reached into the pocket of his vest. “Picked up your mail from the post office.” 

Leo noticed the evil grin on his brother's face when he took the letters. Flipping through them, nothing stuck out until he saw the name on the last one. 

Lloyd Price. 

Leo groaned. It was addressed to him. 

“Shush, I don’t want to hear it. Again.” Mikey snapped. “Besides, you knew what you were getting yourself into.” 

“Maybe I’ll just throw this into the fire. Pretend I didn’t see it.” 

A hand smacked the back of Leo’s head. 

“Do you really expect him to be nice to you after you almost got him killed?” 

May reached over his shoulder and snatched the letter from his hand. 

Leo rolled his eyes. “You’ll never let me live that down, will you? You’d think he’d forgive me after I helped him get a job keeping track of the earnings for the Mayor. If I-”

“‘Hadn’t been the one to put in a good word, he never would have worked again,’” May spoke in tandem with him. “Yes, yes, I know. That’s the least you could have done, Marshal.” She put the letter in the front pocket of her apron.  

Mikey make a judgmental little click. “Still referring to him by his title, I see. What did you do?” 

Leo gave him a mock gasp, even putting his hand on his collarbone. “Nothing. I’ve been my best behavior.” 

“Best behavior?” May huffed. “Can you please tell your brother that he should be resting, not running back and forth between the ranch, the town, and his brothers’ farms as though he’s ten years younger.” 

“I’m right here, Pidge.”

“And if you listened to me, I would be talking directly to you.” 

Mikey laughed. “Sorry May, but Leo’s always been a terrible patient. Though I can’t believe he’s working and not finding ways to goof off. Do you know how many bribes Raph and Donnie had to give him back when we were teenagers? Any chance he’d get, he’d be running off and spending some ‘quality time’ with the stable boy.” 

Leo snickered. 

May raised an eyebrow at him. “Stable boy?” 

Leo reached out and took her hand. “Not my fault that your husband has always been charming.” 

He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his eyes not leaving hers, adoring the way they widened in surprise. May’s cheeks pinked. 

“I think I better high tail it out of here,” Mikey said, putting on his hat and turning away. “I’ll tell the rest of the family about the storm. And I’ll tell Mercy you said hello.”  

May quickly pulled her hand from Leo. The frown on her face brightened into a smile when she waved at Mikey. “Thank you for getting the mail.” 

“Anything for you, sis,” he called back over his shoulder as he reached the fence. 

“What’s this about a storm?” May asked Leo. 

Leo tilted his head back and sniffed the air. “Yep. Big spring storm. Coming tonight.” 

He put his thumb and forefinger into his mouth. His whistle echoed over the plains and farmlands. Within seconds, he could hear barking, as Rocks came running up on the path. 

“Marshal-”

“Now, don’t make that face.” Leo ran his finger along her jaw. “I need to get the horses secured into their stalls. I’ll be back before nightfall.” He leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. 

May sighed, reaching up to hold his hand and squeeze. “Just make sure not to push yourself too hard.” 

“I’ll be all right.”

He let her go and jumped over the stairs. Rocks met Leo near the fence, his tail wagging furiously, and his black fur shining in the afternoon light. Leo bent down and scratched the shepherd dog’s cheeks before hopping the fence. Once he had saddled Hachi, he whistled to Rocks and the dog happily followed him out into the ranch fields. 

About two hours of riding had been enough to corral all twelve horses, including Hachi, into the  barn. Once each of them had been given enough water to last the night, he put Rocks in the barn, and locked things up before walking back to the house. He debated staying and brushing down each horse, but the air was buzzing with energy, the wind anxious. He could see the clouds rolling in from the horizon. 

The wind picked up, making the laundry that May had hung out to dry fling violently, back and forth, on the line. Leo picked up the baskets on the porch and began pulling the sheets and garments down, folding them before staking them neatly in the baskets. Some of the clothes were still damp, but it would be sundown in an hour, and the storm wouldn’t be helpful in drying them.  

He grabbed one basket and threw it over his shoulder and shell, while he kept the other aloft by pressing it to his hip. When he entered the kitchen, the smell of Mikey’s famous beef stew met his nostrils. May spotted him over her shoulder as she stirred the pot over the iron stove. Then she spun around and pinned him with a glare.   

“Marshal! Put those down!” 

His brow ridges furrowed at her. “I haven’t put the clothes away yet.” 

“I can take care of that. Your shell!” 

Leo rolled his eyes. “My shell is holding together just fine. At least let me take the baskets upstairs.” 

“You’re not supposed to be doing too much heavy lifting!”   

He laughed. “Hardly. Heavy for you, yes. But this is nothing for me. In fact, why don’t you ask me to bring these in all the time.” 

May crossed the kitchen and tried to take the basket that was against Leo’s hip. He jerked out of her way, dodging her attempts by moving into the living room.  

“Marshal, please! Draxum said it would take at least a few more months to fully heal. You only stayed in bed for a little over month!” 

“I would have left earlier if everyone hadn’t insisted I stay glued to the bed. I felt much better after three weeks.” 

Leo had gotten to the bottom of the stairs, and still he still moved the baskets out of May’s reach. She let out a frustrated growl, and then blinked when Leo put the baskets down. Before she could do anything, his arms shot out, scooping her up, holding her up against his body with his arms around her waist.

“If you wanted to get your hands on me that badly, you could have just asked.” 

She slapped her hands on his shoulders, kicking her feet, glaring down at him. “You shouldn’t be lifting me up either!” 

“Why aren’t you letting me do my favorite thing?” 

“You can’t charm me, you big hypocrite. You pin me to the bed every time I’m ill.” 

“To be fair, I also pin you to the bed whenever you are healthy.” 

May pressed her palms to her cheeks. “Why did I marry you?” 

“Because you couldn’t resist me.” 

May scoffed, lowering her hands. “Excuse me? You were the one begging me to stay.”

“That’s only because you wouldn’t stop wandering off.” 

“I could have joined a traveling circus and seen the world. It would have been far less annoying.” 

“Still dreaming of being a clown?” 

“It’s not as bad as being married to one.” 

“So you admit that I am funny.” Leo stuck out his tongue.

May frowned.

Leo put her down on her feet. “Go mind the stew before it burns and let me do the laundry.” 

May crossed her arms, stubbornly leveling him with the same, lingering glare. Then she bolted forward, reaching for the laundry basket next to Leo’s legs. He caught her hands before she could grab it, and quickly turned her around. “Go on, Pidge.” 

“I hate you,” she grumbled as she moved to the bottom step. 

“Love you too,” Leo made kissy faces at her as she walked toward the kitchen. 

“At least take a bath before you put those away!” May called. “You smell like the stable!” 

Leo smiled at the top of the stairs. He could hear May fussing about in the kitchen, muttering under her breath. By the time he had bathed, and put away the sheets and clothes, the sun was starting to set, and the rain had started pitter-pattering along the house. Leo made his way through the upper rooms, closing all the windows, and turning on the lamps. The storm grew angrier outside, the wind scraping at the outer walls. 

Leo was just about to lock his bedroom window when he felt a chill move through his shell. Wincing, he arched his spine, hoping to alleviate the slight burning feeling of air seeping into the wounds on his shell. He no longer needed bandages, but he thought about applying more of the ointment Dad Lou and Draxum had made for him. Leo wasn’t worried about infection as much as he was worried about the damn itch. Healing shells also meant that his scutes might shed and he wasn’t looking forward to that. Leo had just gotten both legs through a pair of trousers when he heard something bang against the side of the house. 

A yelp echoed from below. Forgetting his shirt, Leo bolted. He didn’t even bother with the stairs, jumping over the railing, dashing through the living room, and bursting into the kitchen. 

“What’s wrong?” 

May jumped away from the kitchen window, whirling around to face Leo with redness creeping into her pale face. “Nothing. A branch just hit the window. It surprised me, that’s all.” 

She hid her hands in the pockets of her apron. Leo spotted the discarded cutting board on the kitchen counter behind her, as well as the knife that was on the floor, and the lemon that was half cut, no doubt for the kettle and tea cup that was sitting next to the stovetop.   

Leo raised a brow ridge, holding out his hand, palm up. “Really? That’s all that happened?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Now who’s being a difficult patient. Let me see it.” 

“It’s a small cut, that’s all.” 

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem for me to see it.” He wiggled his fingers. 

Slowly, May pulled her left fist out of her pocket and uncurled her fingers. A small bit of blood had pooled on her palm, leaking from the cut on the topmost pad of her forefinger. It really was a small cut, nothing a simple bandage wouldn’t fix. Nevertheless, Leo found himself frowning at it.  

May pulled her hand from his. “It’s really nothing. The window banging like a gunshot just caught me off guard, that’s all. No need to fuss over it.” 

Leo took her by the elbow and led her to sit down on the divan in the living room. He went to the storage space under the stairs and came back with small medicine kit that he place the tea table. Sitting down across from May, he took her hand again. 

“Gave me a right heart attack,” he murmured as he cleaned the cut. 

"Doesn't feel good, does it? How do I think I felt when Donnie came to tell me that you were trampled?” 

“May,” Leo whined. “For the last time, I’m fine. My shell doesn’t even hurt.” 

She didn’t speak as he cleaned the blood, though she did hiss when he disinfected the cut. Her hand twitched, but she stayed still as he prepared the appropriate length of thin bandaging for her finger. Leo would have joked about holding her hand, but truth be told, he was looking for any excuse to touch her. 

Fear of hurting him had made her keep her distance, and it was starting to annoy him. He wasn’t broken, damn it. But that didn't stop May from quickly changing subjects, holding still whenever he kissed her, or putting space between them whenever he got too close.

In any other situation, Leo would have angrily retorted that he would gladly get his shell broken all over. But then May would angrily turn away from him again. He hated it when she was too quiet. Well, there was one exception, but there hadn’t really been a chance of that in the last few weeks. 

“Why do you insist on working so hard?” May asked suddenly.  

“Just doing my job and daily chores. Is there really something wrong with that?” 

“What if you pull something, and the cracks reopen?” 

“I’ve cracked my shell before. I know my limits. There, all done.” He finished bandaging her finger and released her hand. Leo closed the med kit, but left it on the table as he stood, turning toward the kitchen.

“Now let’s go clean up that mess and have some din-”

Leo struggled not to stumble forward. May had crashed into his shell, wrapping her arms around his torso. His bulk made it difficult for her hands to meet, so she settled on simply spreading her fingers over his plastron, under his pectoral plates. 

“Leo.” 

He stilled, as frozen and quiet as a fox that was seconds away from frightening a bird. 

“I am proud of you for saving that boy. I really am,” May said. 

Leo tried not to remember the sound of the shrieking townspeople, and how no one had been fast enough to get to the child before the wagon could crush him. He tried not to remember the crunching sound when the hooves came down onto his shell. Instead he focused on the split second of relief he’d felt after he pushed the boy out of the way, when the boy had landed hard on his rump, on the safe side of the road. 

“But I don’t need you to keep trying to prove how selfless you are. Stop working so hard for me.” 

“Who said I’m working this hard for you?” 

“You couldn’t lie to me three years ago. Don’t think I’m falling for it now.” 

She squeezed his torso. Leo reached for her hands, covering them with his own. “I like helping you round the ranch.” 

She slipped a hand away from his. Then she ran a finger, carefully, so featherlight that he almost didn’t feel it, over one of the cracks in his shell. He shuddered. The wound had closed but it was still a little tender if he were to admit it to himself. Like a lightning bolt, the crack in his shell had splintered outward, the deepest fissure near the top left side. May followed the line to his deepest wound.

“You’re lucky you can still walk,” she whispered. 

Leo turned around. The living room was dim, lit by the single lantern Leo had put on the tea table when he went to get the med kit. With the storm outside and dusk still settling over the world, the room was lit with grey and orange shadows. Lightning flashed outside, illuminating May’s face. Leo couldn’t hear the harsh rain or the rolling thunder that followed. He cupped May’s face in his hands, leaning down so he could look into her eyes. 

“I’m all right.”

“Are you?” May poked his plastron. “I’ve seen the way you grit your teeth when you think I’m not looking, how you try not to scratch your shell, or how breathless you get after too much work.” 

“I’d like to be a different kind of breathless-”

“Leo!” 

“I’m just tired from work is all.” 

“Please. You have the energy of a foal. You’re slowing down, and don’t tell me it's because of age.”

Leo pressed his forehead against hers. “Are you worried about my stamina, May? That is one thing you never have to worry about. I can prove it to you, if you like.”

Her cheeks felt hot under his hands, but she didn’t bite. “Can you just-”

She squeezed her eyes closed, opening her mouth to pull in a deep breath. Leo ran his thumbs over her eyelids, wiping away the tears she was trying to hide.

“The first week after the accident,” he began, “I was in and out of consciousness most of the time, but I saw you whenever I woke up. Saw your hands and how tired you looked. Donnie told me that whenever he could get you to leave my side, you’d keep yourself busy doing everything around the ranch.” Leo smiled ruefully. “Got an earful from him. Kept ranting about how I should be thinking about my poor wife before I throw myself into danger.”  

“He’s right.” 

Leo groaned. “Please, don’t say that.” 

“And I had help,” May said. “Your brothers, Mercy, and April came by. They practically took shifts. Even that boy’s mother came by. Cassandra.” Despite the shine in her eyes, May still smiled. “She’s really something. I think she could singlehandedly take down an army if she wanted to.” 

“So could you,” Leo chuckled. 

“Of course I can.”

She pressed her lips together, but couldn’t stop the sob that had been trapped in her throat. 

Leo got down on his knees. 

“Hey, hey, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” 

May covered her face with her hands as Leo pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her back.

“Your lucky you didn’t break any bones!” 

“I know.”

“You could have died,” she wailed.

“But I didn’t. I’m here, May.”

“For how much longer? I know you recover fast, but this isn’t just a scratch that needs a few stitches.” Her breathe caught in her throat. “Do you have any idea what you looked like? By the time Donnie told me what had happened, they’d been working on you for hours and you were still bloody and your shell was in pieces.”

Leo grimaced. “You shouldn’t have seen that.” 

May hissed. “There was no way I was leaving that room until I knew you were stable. Not even Mercy could stop me from helping put you back together. I did what I had to! Just-you’re not fair!”

May cried, shuddering breaths that had her shaking, and broken words that just tumbled out, one after the other.

“I know you did the right thing, and I know it was brave, and honorable, and I’m so proud but so angry, and don’t you dare say you’d do it all over again! I don’t care! I don't care about the stupid logic! I don't care if the mayor comes tomorrow and gives you a Medal of Honor! Don't you dare get hurt like that again!” 

May hiccuped and wailed in his arms, and it was all Leo could go to gently pat her head and hold onto her. He took her weight when the pain could no longer allow her to support herself. She leaned against him, and he held her up with his arm around her waist when her knees buckled. Her grief could shame the storm raging outside, and all Leo could do was whisper softly to her until she could finally pull in a deep breath and let her hands drop from her face.

“I’m sorry, Pidge. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

May sniffled, cleaning her hands and fave with her apron. “But you have no problem making me worry?” 

Leo stiffened. “That's not true."

May wriggled, pulling back so that he look at his face. Even red eyed and puffy cheeked, her glare could melt icebergs. 

“Prove it then. Take a break, call for help, get some rest, or something! I’d even agree to get a stable boy for you to run off with if it meant you’d stop pushing yourself so much.” 

Leo gave her several wide eyed blinks. “Now I know I didn’t hear that right. Not your best joke, Pidge.”  

“You’re not giving me a lot of options.” 

“And you’re breaking my heart.” 

“What? I’m breaking your heart?”

May began to push against him. Leo got back up onto his feet and pulled her back into his arms when she got just the slightest bit loose. Though angry, she settled quickly, resting her cheek on his plastron, spreading her fingers over his pectoral plates.

How long had it been since she let him hold her this close. Leo winced at the sound of her sniffling, hating that this is what it took for her to be in his arms. He tugged at the little bow behind her neck, and felt the top part of her apron slacken against his plastron. 

“I’m willing to do a lot of things for you. I’m willing to put aside my pride and ask my brothers for help. I'm willing to listen to your father berate me about not being good enough for you, for the umpteenth time. What I am not willing to do is share you with anyone else, not unless you no longer love me.”

“Marshal, I wouldn’t still be here, begging you to take care of yourself if I didn’t love you. And I never said anything about being with anyone else! This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about!” 

“It has everything to do with it. Because if I’m not willing to share you with anyone else, then don’t you dare suggest that I should be with someone that isn’t you.”

He pulled at the knot on the small of her back, and her apron slipped off, pooling on the floor between their feet. May’s breath quickened, and Leo’s hands slid down to the small of her back, where her dress bow was. 

Her hands moved from his chest to his abdominal plates. “I don’t want to share you with anyone else either.” 

Leo tugged on the bow, and then worked his fingers between the ribbons that laced up the back of her dress, loosening them. 

“But I also don’t want to hurt you.” 

She trembled against him, and Leo tangled his fingers in her dress, tugging.

“Do you love me?” 

“Is that a question?” May huffed. 

“Just answer.” 

“Yes, you idiot.” 

“Then you can’t hurt me.” 

Her dress was loose enough to pull apart. When Leo slipped his hand underneath the fabric and pressed his palm against her skin, only a satin undershirt had been in his way.  

“Hmm? No corset? Well, well.” 

“No shirt, Marshal?” She countered, pressing her lips to his plastron, right above his heart. 

“Someone scared the daylights out of me while I was getting dress-”

Leo’s breath caught. May slowly dragged her fingertips down his plastron, her nails scratching the hard material, lighting up the nerve endings in his body wherever she touched. He pressed her closer to him, his hand lightly squeezing the muscles over her shoulder blade. 

“Are you sure about this?” May whispered. “I could just-”

“I'm as sure about this as I am of breathing, so don’t you dare finish that sentence.” 

Leo grabbed May’s hands. He fell backward onto the couch and pulled her toward him, till she stood between his legs. Then, with another tug, he had her chest pressed his face. May put her hands on his shoulders to try and balance herself. But couldn’t stop herself from wobbling when Leo reached down and tugged her skirts up over her legs.  

“Come up here.” 

With his hands steadying her hips, Leo waited as May slowly pulled herself over him. Once she was sitting with her knees bent under her, and her thighs straddling his hips, he leaned back to get a better look at her face. 

The orange glow from the lantern highlighted the pink color in May's cheeks. Her eyes searched his. He wondered what she was could see in his face, whether he had something written on his expression that she could read, but he quickly found himself getting lost in her eyes instead. In the half shy, half excited tilt of her head. In the way her palms rested on his jaw. Her hands were soft. Not even the courser material of the bandage on her finger could stop the tingles that ran down his spine from the contact. Her fingertips slipped under his mask. 

“Take this off.” 

Not bothering to untie it, Leo tugged the mask over his head, and was rewarded by the softness of May’s lips on each of his crescent stripes. She kissed the top triangles above his eyes, on each of his brows, and then softly placed more kisses on the lower triangles on his cheeks. 

“Dinner will get cold,” May mumbled between kisses. 

“Don’t care. Not what I’m hungry for.” 

May’s chest rose and fell harshly, but she gripped his face firmly in her hands when she said, “Do it slowly.” 

“Of course.” 

His hands cupped her elbows, sliding up the sleeves of her dress, stopping on her shoulders.

“I do like to savor my meals.” 

Leo nibbled on the soft skin of her neck and collar bone. Then, he gripped the fabric and pulled, slowly pushing the dress down and off her arms as though he were unwrapping a gift. When the dress lay wrinkled on her waist, May collapsed against him, and Leo let out a breath of sweet relief at the feeling of her body pressed completely against his. 

The storm continued to rage outside, a roaring, angry clash of thunder, wind, and lightning so loud that it almost drowned out the sounds of May’s screams and Leo’s grunts. It continued to thunder and blast the sky with energy, for hours after sundown, slowing only when May drifted off to sleep.        

--- ---- ---

Leo watched the rain tap tap tap against the bow windows across from the divan. The lamp on the tea table had flickered out, leaving him in a room of dark blues and grays. The lightning, wind, and thunder had calmed down. He suspected that the storm would end by morning. Absently, he rubbed May’s bare back as she dozed half-naked against him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, her dress in a wrinkled heap around her legs and his hips. Leo really need to change his trousers soon, but he didn’t want to wake May up. The slight discomfort of the mess they both made was worth it if meant he could hold onto her for just a little longer.  

It had been so long since she had been pressed against him, not since before the accident. She wouldn’t even let him hold her at night, too afraid to toss and turn and end up hurting his shell. If only she knew that nothing soothed his aches as much as she did, especially having her that close. He missed how soft she was against his plastron, the sound of her steady breathing, the weight of her body on his legs, the way she either curled her fists against his chest, or tucked her hands around his sides. 

Leo leaned his cheek against May’s forehead. 

The movement made May stir. She shivered slightly, and Leo sighed, carefully looping his arms under her thighs so that he could carry her up the stairs and back to bed. May groaned with the jostling. She lifted her head from his shoulder. 

“Leo?” 

“Mm?” 

May leaved back, peering up at him, eyes still bleary with sleep. “How long was I asleep?” 

“A few hours.” 

May looked around. “It’s still dark. Have you been here all this time?” 

“I was comfortable.” 

He leg go of her legs so that he could wrap his arms around her back again and give her a gentle squeeze. 

“Very comfortable.” 

“My, aren’t you chipper. Did something good happen?” 

“I’d say five good things happened.” 

Leo couldn’t help the smug smirk that spread across his face, a smirk that only grew wider when May’s eyes flitted to his lips. 

“Still worried about my stamina, Pidge?”  

May’s legs twitched around him. She covered her face. “S-six. It was six.”

“Hmm, I must have missed one for you.” Leo pulled her hands away from her face. “Should we make it seven?” 

“Marshal! Hush!” 

“You weren’t telling me to be silent a few hours ago.” 

May opened her mouth to retort but was stopped when Leo rolled his shoulders and shifted slightly in his seat. She put a hand on his cheek, and Leo couldn’t help leaning into her touch. 

“Please be honest with me. Does anything hurt?” 

“Nothing hurts.” 

“Leo.”

“It’s the truth. Shell is a little itchy, but some ointment can fix that. Think you can help me with that?” 

May smiled. “Happily. Anything else?” 

“Going to be a muddy walk over to Mikey’s tomorrow, and then another to Donnie’s, then Raph’s.”

“Why?” 

“Well, I figured you’d like to see Tess and your sister. Also, so I can talk to my brothers about how to divide up the work at our ranch.” 

May’s lips crashed onto his. Leo’s eyes rolled back into his head. He nipped her lower lip, pulling her hips forward. May whimpered when her lower belly rubbed against his plastron. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips desperately against his, whimpering into his mouth when his tongue darted into hers. Leo pressed into her, one of his fangs lightly grazing her lower lip. The sound of their lips coming together was so loud, he could no longer hear the rain.

The spell was broken when May pulled away with him so that she could gasp for air. 

Leo exhaled. “If that’s all it takes for me to get one hell of a thank-you-kiss, I would have done this sooner.” 

May laughed, and then frowned when she noticed where Leo’s eyes had wondered. She clicked her teeth. “Really, Leo?” 

“What? I can’t help it that you have such pretty breasts.” 

May poked him in the forehead. “I should bite you!”

“Is that a promise?” 

“It’s supposed to be a threat.” 

“A very tempting threat.” 

May pinched his snout. “Can you please be serious?” 

“I’m always serious about you, what with you being the big troublemaker that you are.” 

May scowled when he laughed, but didn’t protest when he pushed against her back, making her lean against him again. Once she was secure, he put his hands under her thighs, fingertips digging into the softness of her backside. He stood. May tightened her legs around his waist as Leo walked toward the stairs. 

“If you keep making that pout at me, I might really spoil the moment.” 

May sighed, though there was no real annoyance in it when she leaned forward to hug his shoulders. “One would think that after three years, you’d be better at not riling up your wife.” 

“But it’s so fun.” 

May reached over his back, putting her palms against his shell, carefully running her fingers over the healing cracks. “Does it hurt when I touch you?” 

“No. Just itches. Temperature is more annoying, aches when it’s too cold. Or I’ll feel a little sore after staying in one position for too long.” 

“Leo?” 

“Hmm?” 

“You’ll take it easy?” 

“Yes.”

“Promise?” 

“I am a man of my word, Pidge. Provided that you keep yours.” 

“What? I haven’t given my word on anything.” 

Leo reached the top of the stairs. He turned down the hall and kicked open the door to their bedroom. Gently placing May down atop their bed, he stepped back so that he could hastily kick off his trousers. Then he reached for what remained of May’s dress and tore it off her. 

“And who’s going to mend all that!” May whined. 

“I’ll buy you another one,” Leo replied as he threw the tattered dress to the ground and joined her on the bed. 

May lay backward, letting Leo slide off her shoes and stockings. 

“Promise me something, Pidge. Otherwise I’ll go right back to work in the morning.”

She leaned up onto her elbows, watching him warily. “And just what am I promising?” 

“Stop tip toeing around me. I promise not to exert myself, but Jesus woman, I’m not made out of glass. I need you to touch me. I need to touch you. Otherwise I’ll go insane.”

May bit her lip, eyes traveling down from his lips to his plastron and lower. “All right.” 

“And-”

“There’s more?” 

“Hush. Let me finish.” 

Leo paused, glancing down at May’s legs now that her stockings were no longer in his way. He held onto May’s calf, pulling her legs into his lap. She winced, trying to pull out of his hold, but Leo held onto one of her ankles. 

“Your poor feet,” he sighed, digging his knuckles into the pads under May’s toes.

May flinched. Leo moved to the other foot, pressing his hands into swollen, red, skin, marveling at the fact that she hadn’t torn anything. 

“You’re lucky you don’t have any calluses.” 

May whined. “I doesn’t hurt that bad.” 

Leo leveled her with a disbelieving look. “Did you think I didn’t notice you charley horsin’ in the kitchen?” 

“I wanted to keep you from taking on more tasks.” 

Leo rolled his eyes. “You’re on your way to collapsing from exhaustion.” 

“Now I am.” 

Leo pinched her pinky toe. May shrieked, kicking her leg. Again, Leo held on.  “Don’t try to be funny,” Leo snapped, even though he wore a smile. “You’re going to promise me that you’ll also take it easy and stop pushing yourself to do all the work. There’s no point in me gettin’ better if you end up hurting yourself in the process.”

“Is that the real reason I’m seeing Tess and Mercy tomorrow?” 

“Can’t keep anything from you, now can I?” 

May laughed, lying back down onto the bed. “You never could. All right. I promise to be more careful.” 

Leo switched feet, slowly easing the soreness from May’s heel. She closed her eyes, letting him knead the sore and tired muscles. Then his hands started to wander, sliding up her legs. 

“Any other demands?” May asked breathlessly. 

Leo hovered over her, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Wrap those legs around my shell. I have a lot of lost time to make up for.” 

With a giggle, May lifted her legs. “Make it seven.” 

ANON!! ANON!!!!!

I AM SCREAMING THIS IS SO GOOD AHHHH!!!

PLEASE. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I WISH I COULD SHARE WITH YOU NOW BUT I DON'T WANT TO GIVE SPOILERS! BUT ANON!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I LOVE this. I LOVE THIS!! It's just like Leo to take it easy when he should be healing. I LOVE the way you write for the time period. I LOVE how you've set a scene. MAKE IT SEVEN!! Please this is so sweet and fond and domestic and 😭😭😭😭😍😍😍

Let me know when you get it on ao3 so I can leave a comment and yell more! Anon, I hope you are having a phenomenal week. I'm giving you the biggest hug in existence.

[professional-jaywalker]

I share a tendency to want to do stuff with my feet, but both in human and roadrunner bird form, they are much less dextrous than an owl's ahah. I also am not disabled, so I'll admit I don't really have a bodily injonction to do it this way either.

However, I have in fact both through phantom shifts and general body incongruence felt I was "upside down" limb wise, with what should be my "dextrous" limbs up when they should be down and my "locomotion" limb down when they should be up. It tends to most often manifest by getting bird leg shifts on my arms, although I've never really gotten a wing shift on my leg (they happen on my arms if I'm not using them to manipulate something, in which case my arms are legs in a shift and my wings get relayed to my back or weirdly overlap in some way).

I still use my feet to manipulate objects from time to time, esp when shifty, but it is not as instinctive to me as when I was a child for pure practicality.

i dont know when i picked up using my feet as hands - i.e. opening doors/cabinets, picking things up, the usual, but I also tend to do things like flicking switches, misc simple dexterous tasks, and i’ve also started trying to draw with my feet - but I wonder if it feeling very natural for me to lean into that may be related to being a bird of prey. Only hands ya got are your feet. And my legs to tend to function as better arms than they do legs anyways (but that’s just cause they suck as legs). but I’ve definitely done it since I was super young and I don’t remember ever being taught it, or where I would have even picked it up since I’m the only person I know who does it.

im kinda curious if anybody else has something similar? like a general “prefer accomplishing tasks without my hands” thing, particularly if your theriotype/kintype doesn’t have humanoid hands.

[silverselfshippingchaos]

hi, ash! i'd love to hear about your ffxv s/i and your ship with gladio! also, what does iris think about your s/i? :O

YAY!! I love talking about this kind of stuff!!!

(Some talk of death, injury, drowning, a bit of blood + spoilers for the game)

F.FXV Ash was born in the Crown City to two members of the Crownsguard (eventually the Kingsglaive). Ever since she was young, Ash was always fed this idea that her kingdom was amazing. She loved her home so much and she wanted to grow up there forever with her parents and her sister. It all changed when she was 16. She parents were killed in combat.

(In Episode A.rdyn, there's a boss fight against two soldiers... Those were her parents.)

Ash stayed in the city long enough to graduate high-school, but after that, she just couldn't keep going. She felt hollow and empty inside. The murder of her parents shattered her in every single way possible, wrecked her faith and her love to kingdom, ruined her life. She's messed up.

And so, Ash leaves. She makes a name for herself as a monster hunter, drifting from town to town and protecting the people. She comes to be known as Eos' Rose. Beautiful, but with thorns too. She didn't choose to be called The Rose, it's just that part of her outfit is a long, red coat. I still need to work out the details of her outfit and all that, but she has a red coat and quite a few earrings. She has a chain threader going through two lobe piercings on one ear, and a dangling rose earring on the other. Both silver.

(Whenever she was about 20, she met a lonely chocobo chick. This chocobo stays with Ash for a long time. She is a green chocobo named Sage. Sage is Ash's companion and best friend. Sage is very friendly to everybody, but she has a distaste for Gladio and has tried to bite him on multiple occasions. She succeeded once, but more on that later.

Again, Sage is naturally green. Prompto asks about this once.

"Hey, Ash! Why is your chocobo green?"

"Well, I dunno, Prompto. Why are you blond?"

It gets a good chuckle out of everyone.)

Anyways, early into the game, the Chocobros run into Ash! She actually draws her sword on Noct at first and then she realizes "holy shit, you're the prince. Oh my god, I tried to kill the prince. Oh no, oh no, oh no-"

It's a bit of a funny moment, but she ends up allying with the bros and she gets especially close with Gladio. They get along really well, both protectors of people and absolutely dorks too.

Ash is a gamer, so she gets along well with Prompto and Noct. They actually all played Kings Knight together online! So it's a bit of a "WAIT WE'RE KINGS KNIGHT MOOTS?!" whenever they finally meet. She gets along really well with Ignis too! Ash is very close with all of the gang. It's not long before her and Gladio are falling in love, kissing and sharing Cup Noodles under the stars.

And as for Iris, Iris ADORES Ash! Looks up to her as the big sister she never had. Iris thinks Ash is so cool and strong! And she tells Gladdy that if he breaks her heart, she'll kick his ass! Ash really loves Iris too. She was always the youngest in her family too, so it means a lot to her to be able to be an older sister figure to someone. Ash teaches Iris a bit about how to use a sword too.

Anywho, back to the plot.

Ash accompanies the bros whenever they go onto the boat to Altissia. Her and Gladio have a sweet, romantic date there. But that happiness doesn't last. It's been a bit of a running joke that Ash doesn't know how to swim.

The last thing Gladio expected was to lose her.

As Altissia falls, Ash sacrifices herself to save Gladio and Prompto. They both have to watch as Ash falls from a bridge and into the water. They watch as Ash dies. But there's not enough time to save her. Prompto sobs, Gladio screams in horror. Ash is content. She's going to die protecting the people she loves, right? It's not that cute and her almost drowning to death was the scariest moment of her life. She's choking and gasping for air, trying to grab any rubble she can just to stay alive.

Ash isn't seen again for a while. It's part of the reason why Gladio lashes out on the train—he's mourning his girlfriend's death. Whenever he's sitting there across the table from Ignis, you can hear him crying.

However, a few chapters later... Guess who comes back. She's injured, has scars on her face, and her coat is in tatters. Gladio hugs her and cries, Ash tells him to loosen up a bit since she has a few cracked ribs.

"What's the matter? Not a fan of ghosts?"

Gladio tells her that this isn't the time to crack jokes, but he hugs her so tight. She was alive. She was okay.

(However, during this time, Gladio actually found Sage and told her that Ash was dead. Sage bit him hard that day.)

But... How exactly did Ash survive..?

That gets explained in Episode Ignis. I won't talk about Ash's involvement in every DLC just to not make this to lengthy, but in Iggy's... Ravus sees her drowning. He grabs her out of the water and onto land. He's not gentle about it, and the impact of being thrown against rubble isn't great for Ash's bones, but she's alive. Ash is nursed back to health by the survivors of the town. There's a lot more detail there, but that's the gist of what happens.

Ash's relationship with Ravus is fascinating. They bond quite a bit and have a chat under the stars much later, right before Ash reunites with Gladio. I had to dig through like two years worth of discord messages for this but it went something like this

Oh and you know that level that's just Gladio and Ignis? Yeah, Ash is there too. She cusses out Ardyn actually. Although I really like Ardyn, my S/I doesn't. He makes a comment that she's quite grown up now. You know how he gets those flashbacks of peoples' memories after he kills people in his DLC? He saw an image of a little girl with red glasses. And here she was, a grown woman.

She breaks off from the group before the Ravus fight. I don't want her to see him like that.

Anyways, then timeskip rolls around. Whenever Noct arrives at Hammerhead is met with a familiar "kweh-kweh!". Sage greets Noct after ten long years, and then Ash runs over. They have a cute hug scene.

However, Ash's outfit is different. Not only is her hair curly (pre-ts Ash had it straightened), but she's wearing... Kingsglaive armor?! Her outfit is vaguely inspired by Crowe from Kingsglaive, but Ash had become a soldier. Not just to follow in her parents' footsteps, but because she had spent her whole life feeling lost and she had finally found a purpose. Traveling with Noct and Co had made her realize that her life had a purpose. She wanted to spend her life protecting her kingdom.

After her parents died, she didn't know what to do with herself. Noct was both her best friend and her king. Noct says that the Kingsglaive outfit looks good on her. It makes her smile. Ash had finally come home to Insomnia, and she had finally found what she was meant to do.

Before the gang leaves, she gives Noct a long hug and tells him to come back alive. She gives Gladio a kiss too.

And that's basically it!

[tophthedaydreamer]

three ocs that have been knockin' around in my noggin since... january i think?

the story is still in development (i have no clue what i'm doing! *does a jig and jpeg explodes), but i at least have these three goobers. from left to right, we have gale hawkins, charlie, and phoebe peng!

gale and phoebe are FBI agents who are tasked with taking down an underground terrorist organization (what a mouthful) in the tense political climate of the early 2000s. charlie is an agent from that organization who is an artificial human with destructive psychic powers (you will tear the evil lab trope from my cold dead hands). he's agreed to join gale and phoebe on the condition that he can get safe passage to a different country and start a new life.

if this were ever an animated series, it would definitely be adult oriented, on account of the epic violence, swearing (charlie has a chronic dirty mouth), and mild suggestive jokes.

extended character bios below bc this is getting a lil long:

gale is an amnesiac detective regarded as a genius by the populace. he's deaf and communicates using sign language (also an expert lip reader). only speaks when he has no other option, as he's self conscious about his voice (he has a deaf accent). gale cares very deeply about the common folk, as he was taken in by a poor family when they found him alone with no memories. very noble guy who will do what it takes to help others, but also really wants to know where he came from. deeply cares about phoebe and sees her as a little sister. ambivalent towards charlie, but becomes trustful of him. cool and slick during a fight, he can probably shoot up the bad guys like the free bird scene from kingsman. almost as if he can sense what's coming towards him...

phoebe is gale's headstrong student who dreams of becoming a detective. her family is from Hong Kong, having moved to the USA when she was three. as a result, she's bilingual (Cantonese and English)! athletic and full of energy, phoebe tends to leap before she looks, often landing her into scrapes (gale teaches her patience). she's also impulsive with her words and very protective of her loved ones (type of person to say "her pronouns are they/them!!!!", think for a second, and then apologize profusely lol). she has a personal tie to this case, as she lost her older brother in an attack done by the organization. she's livid and wants revenge, but she must learn to control her emotions. she and charlie have an enemies-to-friends arc.

charlie is a living weapon (codename: the warhead, charlie is a name he picked for himself) rather than a willing soldier (he does not want to be here!). the result of the recent perfection of artificial biological lifeforms science, his one purpose is to assassinate, blow up buildings, and not ask questions. he's not treated very fondly on account to his defective nature. originally intended to be telekinetic, charlie lacks a component that lets him regulate his psychic energy, meaning that when he uses his powers, they're on 100%. it's like instead of gently picking up a soda can, you squeeze it with your full strength until it pops. out of frustration and crushing guilt, charlie deserts the organization with the intent to disappear... until he is arrested by gale and phoebe. he only agrees to work with the FBI on the condition they'll let him go free once they take down the terrorists. stiff towards gale and deeply annoyed by phoebe, but he'll learn to open up.

apologies for the wall of text. if you read this, i give you a hug and a cookie. hopefully i'll figure out a proper story for these dudes. maybe i'll draw them more eeeeeee

[juergenklopp]

josefnewgayden -> jasonkelce

For the most beloved American singer, five-time All Pro First Team C, future Hall of Famer, and ½ of the hosts of the greatest sports podcast in the world