#opportunist for sure

[the-starlight-mistress]

It’s you!

[bug-wings]

more of the thangs

[everestgale]

Giving your (short) Oppy a flower for Valentine's Day :3

Opportunist very much appreciates your kind gesture! Well, you can see his reaction for yourself :]

(Thank you for your ask, and happy Valentine's day!!! This was so fun to doodle :])

[wysteriaisapenguin]

It looks like Opportunist had a nightmare. Wonder what he dreamt about...

Here's my gift to @itsonlypolite for a Secret Santa event on Discord! She asked for Oppy angst so I am happy to give her some ehehehe~ But hey, at least he's not suffering alone! Hunted's here to keep him company for the night.

Hope you like it! ^-^

[morganbritton132]

IDK if it’s actually a trend or just one couple’s hilarious communication style but I keep seeing reels/shorts of this one couple having “arguments” by pressing their faces/cheeks/noses against each other (like kissing but not) and whisper-shouting at each other and neither can keep a straight face and it always resolves hilariously.

Sort of piggy-backing off of your previous posts about Eddie and Steve being mid-tiff and ridiculous, I just imagine Steve coming in after the other teachers leave, sitting on Eddie’s lap and literally getting in Eddie’s face with his face like “hey, asshole, what gives?” Bonus point if Eddie had been live.

I am picturing this whole event happening a little after Eddie started using Tiktok.

So, Eddie (and Steve by extension) is nowhere near as popular on the app as he’s going to get. He has his following of metalheads and D&D nerds, but he hasn’t even explicitly said that he’s married yet.

After he said his hellos and goodbyes to Steve and the other teachers, he went down to the studio, picked up his guitar, and started a live-stream because sometimes it’s better to work out your creative process with an audience. He’s not great with the camera set up yet so the way it’s angled, you get the guitar, his hands, and his torn jeans, but it’s cut off at his mouth.

He’s in the middle of working the kinks out of an angsty guitar riff when the door to the studio opens and closes, and you can hear footsteps. A hand reaches into frame, pulls the guitar out of Eddie’s hands and replaces it with the hand’s owner.

Steve climbs into Eddie’s lap and straddles him, but all you see on camera is Steve’s nice jeans and his Christmas themed grippy socks. You also get to watch Eddie’s hands rest on Steve’s hips for just a second before sliding into his back pockets. Eddie’s voice sounds real fucking casual when he hums, “What do I owe this pleasure?”

Steve sounds anything but casual when he replies with, “What gives, asshole? You embarrassed me.”

“I embarrassed you?” Eddie said in a voice that sounds like he is about to go on a monologue across cafeteria tables. He ignores Steve’s pouty little ‘don’t’ start’ to instead slide a hand up to the back of Steve’s neck and pull him in closer. “Did the freak embarrass you, Ste-“

“Don’t call me that,” Steve huffs, a laugh in his voice. “What are you, my father? Call my what you always call me.”

“And what is that?”

“I’m not embarrassed of you,” Steve says instead of answering. “I never have been.”

“You won’t see a movie with me.”

“I want to see the movie!” Steve exclaims, shifting so their foreheads are pressed together. He looks Eddie in the eyes even though it makes him feel cross-eyed when he does that. “I didn’t say I didn’t want to go. I just – I don’t want to do the carpet.”

You can tell from the sound of Eddie’s voice that he’s pouting when he says, “I wanna show you off.”

“Next time,” Steve promises like he promised the last time and the time before that. He kisses Eddie on the tip of the nose and then pulls back, “You’re fogging up my glasses.”

Steve says that he’s hungry and wants to go get dinner, so Eddie reluctantly lets him out of his lap after one last squeeze of his ass. Steve pulls Eddie to his feet and they leave his live-stream audience with an image of the studio’s ugly orange couch as they go upstairs.

‘Eddie Munson gay’ trends on Twitter for the next week which is amazing to Eddie because, “Seriously, guys? It’s insane how many times I’ve had to publicly come out as queer when everybody in my high school seemed to know instantly.” 

[towerofbabybell]

do you think david caught himself staring at jonathan's back muscles while he was arching for way longer than he should've

[voiceofthe]

its like. well i happen to think the opportunist's confidence is completely genuine. i think he in fact does love himself. and that is precisely why he is such a backstabbing little slime.

[prideprejudce]

also for anyone wondering before tonight, the entire blood and cheese *situation* in hotd is not a justified revenge for what happened to lucerys, it was daemon being a bloodthirsty dog who was ready to fight like a dog even before lucerys was killed. he has been waiting for any excuse to escalate the civil war since day one and will not be above using rhaenyra's grief to further his own agenda

[hello-universe-lovers]

@everestgale 's Contra and my Oppy have similar character arcs (guilt from the consequences of their actions). And both have scars (or physical reminders) of that guilt. I wanted to draw em shaking hands in solidarity for that.

[everestgale]

You kill, because you were always meant to be a killer.

So yesterday, in this Skeptunist doodle dump post, I mentioned (under the cut) that I have a set of drawings for a friend's Skeptunist fanfic set in their Noir AU. Well, the set of drawings is actually two comic pages.

Small context for the AU/comic: Oppy is tasked with killing three people, one of them being Skeptic. And obviously, he doesn't want to do that :]

I can't just let these two live peacefully, and apparently, neither can my friends. It's all Opportunist's fault, he makes it so easy to doom everything. God damn it Oppy /lh /j

Anyways, next page is under the cut. Warning for mild eye strain.

"I love you t—"

"[Opportunist] didn’t let him finish. If he did, he was in danger of changing his mind."

[kehideni]

We all love that Callum is willing to corrupt himself, i know.

Aha aha

Hey, do you guys know who else is willing to be corrupt?

For someone who is adamantly againts dark magic Rayla sure threw that away in favor of Callum's well being.

[enchantingfirenightearthquake]

Learning to be kind (8)

Chapter III

The Siren

“You’re on a-.”

The Narrator was cut off by Smitten’s wailing. Hero is trying to calm him down as Skeptic is investigating the new area. Happy looks around too. They’re on a lakeshore. A dock with a little wooden canoe is sitting nearby. In the far distance, Happy can just make out the Cabin.

“She killed us!” Smitten shouts in despair. “Why would she do that?!” Memories of their previous life rush Happy.

They had gotten the Damsel again. They talked a bit, and the Long Quiet decided to kill her. Smitten had been devastated. Happy had already seen both routes you could get from the Damsel. They expected to see the Grey again. And that’s when something changed.

Happy doesn’t remember exactly what Smitten had said. Something about their heart being ripped from their chest. And then it happened. As if Smitten’s words were a command, the Princess came back to life so her hand shot through their chest, ripping their heart out. Her last words to them “Did I make you happy?” we’re still sugary sweet. Clearly this was taking an emotional toll on the boisterous voice.

Why though? Smitten never cared if she killed them before. What was different now?

“That’s not important now. It doesn’t matter what she did, or we didn’t do. Can’t you feel it? Don’t you hear her? She’s calling us. We have to go to her.” Skeptic was right. In the back of Happy’s mind, they can hear someone singing.

“Is that a good idea?” Hero asked hesitantly. “You were the one pushing us last time not to trust her. We killed her because of you. And now you want us to just blindly trust her?”

“She has answers. She’s the only thing that matters.”

“The only thing that matters?!” rage filled Smitten’s voice. “We stabbed her through the chest! She literally ripped our heart out! Who does that to a person you love?!”

“You’ve already been here before. Of course you have. Heaven forbid you slay the Princess and save the world in one go,” the Narrator grumbled. “You do realize every time you fail, and she escapes, it dooms another world to ruin, right?”

“Who care about the world?” Skeptic complains. “What has this world ever done for us? She’s more important.”

“Oh, sure she’s important. She’s our murderer!” Smitten screamed back in tears.

“What’s happening with you two?” Happy asked. The singing was getting louder. They pointed at Smitten. “You’ve been Team Princess since all this started. Now, you want nothing to do with her?” Looking at Skeptic, they said, “And you’re skeptical of everything. It’s literally your name. But you want to blindly trust a woman whose killed us twice now?”

“Twice?!” the Narrator screeched.

They all ignored him. “You two even look different!”

Both voices looked down at themselves at Happy’s words. Smitten’s clothing looked more like funeral attire. Typically, the peacock looking voice would wear bright, warm colors, his dress looking like flames when he moved. A veil hung from his mix of tiara and face plate. Even Smitten’s hair that normally looked like fire had deflated.

Meanwhile, Skeptic was typically what one would describe as a living shadow. Typically, Skeptic would copy the form of the other voices. He looked very different now. His feathers were still dark as shadows though coming from the top of his head was long flowing locks of water in a place of hair as were his wings. He was dressed like a stereotypical nobleman right now.

Both voices looked deeply confused. The singing got louder. It was deafening now.

“It doesn’t matter what you all look like,” the Narrator commented. “What matters is getting on that boat, taking the pristine blade, and slaying her. Is that understood?”

The only response he got was a bunch of grumbling from the voices. Still, the Long Quiet moved towards the little boat. The boat towards the Cabin was silent. All but the singing in their mind. It was getting softer the closer they got.

Suddenly a dark shadow moved below the water. Only Happy and Smitten reacted. “What was that?!” the normally cheery voice half asked, half shouted. Happy didn’t get a chance to respond as a voice called. “Hello.”

The…Damsel? …was sitting out on a rock in the middle of the lake. Her voice had an unusual tone to it.

“That wasn’t always there, right?” Hero asked nervously.

“No, we would have seen it from the shoreline,” Happy answered back.

“You must have missed it,” Skeptic argued.

“It’s a big ass rock, Skeptic.”

“Well, maybe you need to get your eyes checked.”

The ensuing argument was cut off by the Princess’ melodious voice. “Did you miss me, sailor? Why, don’t you jump in the water.”

“Don’t you dare,” the Narrator growled.

“It’s fine,” Skeptic reasoned. “She only attacked us this time because this one,” he pointed a finger at Smitten, “wanted her to.”

Smitten growled. “I. Didn’t. Want. That!”

“So, is it safe to go in?” Hero asked.

“No!” “Yes!” As if the Princess could hear the voices arguing, she said, “I'll make sure you’re safe and sound.”

From the corner of their vision, Happy noticed something move behind her. They couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it almost looked like a-.

“Did you see that too?” Smitten questioned.

“I did.”

“It’s open water,” Skeptic kept arguing. “You two are imaging things.”

Happy could actually punch Skeptic in the face right now.

“Let’s cut the charade,” the Princess commented. Her voice went back to a normal tone. “We both want to leave. We both want answers. You’re the only one who can leave. You take me on that little boat of yours, and we’ll both be free.”

When no one moved, she added with the sing song voice again, “Come onnnn…You owe me. After all, you attacked me first.”

“That’s fair,” Skeptic and Hero agreed, though the latter was more nervous than the former.

“Are you serious?!” Smitten and the Narrator screeched as the Long Quiet started to move the boat forward again.

“Oh. My. God. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Smitten will you help me slay the Princess?”

The peacock hesitated as he looked at the Princess. Happy’s gaze followed over to her too. For a brief moment, the Princess’s hands turned to claws and her smile turned deadly. That was the push Smitten needed.

“Ok,” Smitten agreed as he squeezed Happy’s hands. “I want to trust her, but I want to trust you more.” With the two voices in agreement, Happy and Smitten yanked control away from the Long Quiet.

“What are you doing?!” “Are you trying to ruin this for us?!” Skeptic and the Princess snarled respectively. With that as the only warning, the two enraged beings lunged forward. Hero was able to catch Skeptic in time, but the Princess…

“Claws dig into your chest as the once beautiful visage of the Princess transforms into a scaly monster,” the Narrator describes. “Fins protrude from the sides of her head. Despite the seaweed like hair blocking her face, you can still make out sharp teeth and black pupilless eyes. She pulls you into the water.”

They can’t swim, Happy thinks as they’re pulled under. Panic starts to take over as the Princess drags them further down with a strength they didn’t know she had. Happy was about to give up when they felt their arm move.

The Princess screeches in rage as Smitten slashes the blade across her face. She let’s go of them! With the little strength they have left, the Long Quiet push up towards the surface. Happy is so glad when they’re able to suck in sweet, delicious air. Happy makes good on his promise to punch Skeptic. So does Smitten.

“What the hell was that for?!”

“Don’t ever do something that fucking stupid again, moron!” Smitten snarls back as he pulls Skeptic into a hug. Happy blinks. So does Hero. So does Skeptic.

“What…What are you hugging me for?”

“Because you’re important to me, dummy. And scared the crap at me when you started acting, like, well me.”

“We’ve been fighting all day.”

“I know. But that doesn’t change that it’s true. It’s like…you’re the other half of my soul.” Something about that must have touched Skeptic because all the fight in him drains as he returns Smitten’s hug.

Honestly, something about that speaks to Happy too. They think of Strangling and Cheated. Strangling was their Princess. There would always be a connection, the two understanding each other on a fundamental level that Happy didn’t think even the other voices understood about them. For a while, Happy had thought perhaps these feelings were romantic but the way they felt about Strangling was different from what they felt about Hero and Para. Strangling was as Smitten had put it the other half of their soul.

And then there was Cheated. Happy and Cheated had gotten off on the wrong foot. Obviously. But something about the other voice drew them to him. Happy lived for making Cheated laugh when they ran into each other. His smile when they beat the Razor is something seared into Happy’s brain. They weren’t just doing all this anymore to make Strangling proud of them or for them to be a better person. They wanted Cheated to be free of the torment and bullshit the world threw at him.

Happy’s musings were interrupted as something knocked into the boat. Everyone went still before Hero asked what they were all thinking. “We did kill her, right?” And that was when the boat and its occupants when flying. Happy looked over their shoulder in time to see what they could only describe as a leviathan opening its jaws to swallow them whole.

***

“-and then the hands came for her!” a wet Happy was explaining (complaining) to Oppy, Hunted, and Strangling. Looking up at their friend, Happy said, “This was new. I don’t know how I know that, I haven’t seen all the other routes, but I know we’ve never been there before.”

“So, what does that mean?” Hunted asked. Hunted and Oppy were really coming along while being here. In the Construct, Hunted would only speak when necessary and never too loudly. And Oppy was always trying to keep an upper hand on the situation, no one ever really knowing what his play was. But here with Strangling, both were learning to just be whoever they wanted to be. Happy couldn’t be prouder of them.

“I don’t know. But I feel like it was trying to show me something. I just can’t figure out what.”

“Well…I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” Strangling said happily. “You’re a lot cleverer than anyone gives you credit for.”

“More annoying too,” Oppy teased.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”

“Be nice,” Hunted ordered as he snuggled into Happy and pulled Oppy closer to the other voices.

“You three are such freaks,” Witch sneered.

“Wait till the others get here. Then you’ll be sorry.”

“Happy-.”

“I know, I know. Be nice.”

***

Chapter III

The Child

“You’re on a path in the woods-.”

“I told you! I told you not to give her the blade! I told you it would come around to bite us in the ass! I. Voted. Against it.”

“What’s done is done,” Hunted responded to a very annoyed Oppy. “And you can’t be that mad. You got her pretty good too.”

That was right. The Long Quiet had given her the blade. Happy thought they were finally going to meet Thorn. But after the Witch stabbed them, Oppy had stolen the blade, cornered her, and stabbed her back. And now they were stuck with the-.

“Wait,” Hero interrupted. “What did the title card say? Are we actually supposed to kill a child?”

That silenced everyone.

“I…am uncomfortable doing that.”

“Second that.”

“Third it.”

“Then it’s decided. We won’t slay her.”

“She is going to end the world.”

“She’s a child.”

“Millions of lives are on the line.”

“She’s a child.”

“You have the ability to save everyone who exists and everyone who will ever exist-.”

“Ok, what part of the phrase ‘She’s a child!’ are you not understanding?” Happy interrupted.

“We can worry about that later,” Hunted said. “We’re not in the woods. I’m not even sure we’re in the Cabin.”

The other voices start looking around at Hunted’s comment. The Cabin looked…weird. Everything looked plastic. The floor is a checkered pattern tile. The walls are a hideous yellow with daisies on it. The table that should hold the pristine blade is circular with fake flowers in the middle.

“So, what is our plan. The blade’s not here, and even if it was, we’re not using it.”

“I say we leave,” Oppy suggested.

“I agree,” Hunted seconded.

“You can’t leave-!”

“Because the world will end. Yes, we know,” Hero says snippily. Happy loves a snippy Hero. He continues. “We can’t just leave a child in a place like this.”

“Sure, we can. Look at me now. I’m leaving the Cabin,” Oppy says as he moves towards the door, Hunted close behind him. When Hunted meets Happy’s confused look, he shrugs. “We don’t know the first thing about children.”

Happy looks towards the basement door. “Sure. But she’s alone and probably scared and might not know what’s going on.”

“She knew what was going on last time,” Oppy tries to reason. But Happy sees the metaphorically cracks. Both Oppy and Hunted value their own survival above all else, but neither of them are heartless. A small smile pulls at the corners of Happy’s mouth.

“What’s that look for?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Both voices look suspicious. “Look at this way. Would either of you want to be in her place if the roles were reverse?”

Oppy groans and Hunted sighs. But both of them move closer to Happy and Hero despite their reservations. As the Long Quiet makes his way down to the basement, Happy starts to think. Oppy was obviously here because he was there for the Witch. But why was Hunted here? Because Hunted is probably the voice with the most knowledge on taking care of someone? A darker thought made them think that the two were here because if was the only way they’d all survive.

As they step into the basement, all their eyes are assaulted with every color imaginable. Toys of every shape and size are thrown around the room. In the center, sits a childish version of the Princess with a toy tiara and clutching a stuffed version of the Long Quiet in one hand and the pristine blade in the other. She sits at a tiny table adorned with tea set and treats of all kinds.

“You’re here!” her squeaky voice shouts. She gets up from the table, rushing over to them. “You have to come play with me! I’m a Princess. That’s an order,” she says as she starts pulling them along.

“This is a perfect opportunity,” the Narrator says. “Just take the blade and slay her.”

“Mate, we already decided we are all deeply uncomfortable with that decision,” Oppy commented. “And besides, she’s just a little kid. What’s the worst she can do?”

Happy gets the feeling there going to find out very quickly. As they reach the table, Happy takes notice of a weird smell. So does Hunted. “Don’t eat anything,” he instructs.

“Why not? Do you see this spread? Not to mention we don’t know what she’ll try to do if we say no,” Oppy attempts to reason as the Princess pours tea for them.

“No, but I know we’ll definitely die if we ingest anything. It’s poison.”

“Here!” the Princess says cheerily. She’s holding out a cup and plate full of treats. They take it but hesitate due to Hunted’s words. “Well go on. I worked really hard to make all of this. Just for you.” She clutched the doll a little tighter to her. Happy felt a slight pressure that wasn’t there before.

“What do we do?” Hero asks. “We don’t want to upset her.”

“I’m more concerned about us dying via poisoning than upsetting her, Hero.”

“It all looks and smells delicious, my dear,” they hear Oppy’s voice leave the Long Quiet’s mouth. “But I’m afraid the tea is a little too hot for my taste. And one really shouldn’t eat these delicious cookies and biscuits dry.”

The Princess goes quiet as she thinks, tapping the blade against her lip. The voices all wait with bated breath.

“Ok!” she finally decides. The voices relax. “Let’s play a game while we wait!” Never mind. Oppy and Hunted are back on high alert.

As the Princess drags them off again, Oppy starts talking again. “Here’s the plan. I’m going to talk our way out of this as much as possible. If I can’t, Hunted steps in and keeps us from dying.”

Hunted nodded while Happy and Hero looked on with confusion. “You’d willingly hand over that kind of power to one of us?

“Hunted values survival all else. I respect that.” Happy didn’t buy that. Not fully at least. The last time with Smitten and Skeptic kept playing through their head.

Their attention went back to the Princess who set up what looked like hopscotch. “You know how to play right?” They nodded. The first couple of rounds went fine, but the Long Quiet kept winning, much to the little girl’s annoyance. That’s when things started getting fucky.

It started with the tile placements. No matter how hard they threw or where the stone landed, every time they looked down they found themself at the first tile. And Opportunist was getting pissed. Until he snapped.

“That’s it!” Opportunist ripped control away from Quiet, flying them over to the final tile. The delight at ‘winning’ was short lived.

“You cheated.” It was said quietly. The Princess gripped the arm of the plushie and twisted it. Pain erupted through the Long Quiet’s body as their arm bone snapped. Happy could just barely hear Hunted’s whines and Oppy’s curses over the roaring in their ears.

“Naughty birdie,” the Princess taunted. “Don’t do that again.” She perked up again. “Now let’s go eat.” She grabbed their injured arm and pulled. Tears sprung to Quiet’s eyes at the continued agony.

The voices started panicking. They needed to keep her away from that table. Happy got an idea as they spun the tiny Princess around. Their arm throbbed. “Can any of you dance?”

“Dance?”

“Yeah. We need to distract her. If we keep her busy, maybe she’ll forget about the poison.”

“I can try,” Hunted offered. He looked at Oppy. “Talk your way out of it.”

“I’m sorry, dearest, but I’m not hungry right now. What’s say we work up an appetite?”

The Princess smiles wide as she agrees. Watching Hunted and Oppy work together was actually fascinating. The worked in tandem. The two back up the other’s strengths. And when one faltered the other covered his weakness.

It was also the way they just interacted with each other. They listened to each other. They sought out the other’s opinion and trusted that they knew what they were talking about. That was a tall order for the survival duo.

“It’s like…you’re the other half of my soul.”

Happy’s eyes widen. They knew what they had to do. But first they have to get out this.

“You spin one more time, before dipping the child. She giggles and claps her hands in delight,” the Narrator says. There’s an odd tone to his voice. Like he’s mentally somewhere else.

“That was so much fun!” the Princess cheers. “What do you want to do now?” Her eyes were full of wonder.

“Any ideas gents?” Oppy asked. Happy looked around the room as did the others. They took notice of an old dresser in the corner of the room.

“Well…” they hear their voice coming from Quiet’s mouth. So weird. “I’m going to be honest with you, sweetie. I’m not just a birdie.” Lowering their voice they said, “I’m actually a secret knight.”

The other voices all looked at Happy with confusion, but the Princess gasped in delight. “Really?” she shouted.

“Oh, yes. And I’m on a secret knight mission. You see, there’s an evil wizard, and he wants to keep us locked away forever.”

“Is he talking about you?” Hero asked the Narrator.

“Oh, no! How do we stop him.”

“Well, first I think I need to dress the part.” At those words, the Princess rushed off to the dresser. When she couldn’t get the door open with her hands full, she rushed back off to Quiet, shoving the stuffie and blade into his hands.

Quiet and all the voices freeze. “Don’t.” That was Hunted. His eyes are looking at Oppy. “It’s a trick.”

“But…it might be the only chance we get,” Oppy argued back. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“She’s still a kid,” Hero reminded as if they forgot.

“Yes, a kid who broke your arm,” the Narrator butted in. “An arm that is still broken and in pain.”

The Princess spun back around. “Here!” she called as she held up a fancy hat with a feather coming out of it. As the other voices argued, Happy noticed the tremble in the Princess’s hand. Oh.

“Hey,” Happy spoke again. “Are you ok?”

The Princess fidgeted as Happy made the body bend down to eye level. “I…I’m sorry. For stabbing you last time.” So she did remember. “And for your arm.” She looked down at the blade in their hand. “Are you going to hurt me?”

Happy’s heart broke. “No, sweetie. We just want to leave.” They look over at the steps. “Do you want to leave too?”

She nodded as the Narrator screeched, “No, you can’t! She’s going to-!”

“Let it go, mate,” Happy interrupted. “We decided at the beginning we weren’t going to hurt her. You lost.” Happy put the hat on the Long Quiet’s head before cradling the tiny Princess in their one good arm. Bit of a difficult task.

“Oh! Does your arm still hurt?” she asked. She made a grabbing motion towards the plushie. When Quiet handed it over, the Princess gave the arm a kiss. “There! Kisses make everything better.” The Long Quiet wiggled his fingers on his now healed on. What do you know.

The walk back up the stairs was filled with chatter from the little Princess. Her eyes lite up when they made it outside. “So pretty!” She shivered.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a little cold.”

Happy’s heart ached as the Shifting Mound took her away.

                                                                                          ***

“I KNOW HOW TO SAVE SMITTEN!”

[salty-an-disco]

can’t animate, but I had to put this into existence, somehow

Princesses’ version

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

i dont usually post random snippets like this but everyone PLS listen to chii she is adorable 🥺🐟

[batsplat]

@matchvedev I'll find actual presser clips at some point, but here's jorge bringing up race bans at le mans 2013 (race after jerez)

and more mention of it after aragon 2013 (where marc caused dani to crash)

and in the context of assen 2015 (obviously not one of the instances where jorge brought it up, but still narratively kinda fun so I'm including it)

and for old time's sake, jorge did bring it up again after argentina 2018

[everestgale]

Do you have any Skeptunist headcanons you'd like to share?

[kicks down the door] IT'S MY TIME TO SHINE!

So, uh, I should probably warn everyone, it's 1500 words worth of random headcanons. And that's not even all of the HCs I have, I know there are a couple I'm forgetting... So yeah, it's gonna be long. I am so sorry, dear anon, I went a little crazy-

Well, have these old doodles of them that I think forgot to share before [I genuinely can't remember if I put these on my Tumblr before], just so that this isn't just one giant block of text. These are from like February or so, but I updated them to match their new designs [I gave them mouths], yippee!

Warning: I squish and stretch these guys like playdough, especially Opportunist. And by that, I mean they are likely very, very OOC, especially as they get further from the events of the game time-wise. So if you're looking for an accurate analysis and representation of how these two would interact, you might not like this post and my headcanons.

Also for context: this is all set in my main post-canon [post-Unknown Together ending] AU, where voices and vessels start off separately, and it would take a long, long, long while for them to meet. Without voices making vessels worse, and vessels making voices worse, everyone gets to slowly address their problems. Essentially, it's "everyone gets therapy" /j

With that said, Skeptunizm:

1. I like to describe the way they start their relationship / get to know each other with the word "curiosity". Opportunist is always scheming, always playing games, always trying to gain an upper hand. His mind is one giant puzzle, and Skeptic is very much curious about it and is drawn to figure out how Oppy thinks and what's going on in that rat brain. Oppy, meanwhile, is very much a suck-up, always looking for people to cozy up to, and so Skeptic, with his intelligence and general levelheadedness, feels like a natural choice for Opportunist to try to gain the favor of. He is interested in Skeptic, curious to see if he could get his trust and get him to join his schemes. Skeptic, of course, isn't stupid and doesn't fall for Oppy's tricks, but he's doing an investigation of his own, so he plays along. And so there they go, spending a lot of time together, naturally drawn to each other and curious about each other's strengths-

Okay, I know this is less "headcanon" and more of a "hear me out" on Skeptunist, but I had to write down exactly why I got so interested in these two in the first place. This is what started this train, and now I can't get off /silly

Here are some of my actual HCs:

2. One of the first HCs I made for these two: they are both yappers and will not shut up unless you interrupt them. In Oppy's case, he likes the sound of his own voice (/j), or rather, he likes to brag and talk all about his wonderful accomplishments (they are all greatly exaggerated, and no one buys it). Skeptic, meanwhile, is bursting with weird esoteric knowledge and interests, and he will talk about it all if not stopped. And part of the reason why they get along so well is that they actually *listen* to each other's endless yap: Skeptic listens to Oppy because he likes trying to piece together which parts of his stories are exaggerated and which parts are true, and of course, he's also taking extensive notes on Oppy and his bragging tendencies (still gotta figure out the rat). As for Oppy, I think at first, he is half-listening to Skeptic out of politeness, just to get on his good side, but at some point, he genuinely gets interested in some of the topics that Skeptic talks about, especially ones he thinks could be useful for his schemes and general persuasiveness, like psychology or linguistics/pragmatics. So they both talk a lot, but they also listen to each other-

Oh god, these are all so long- Well, more are under the cut!

3. Skeptic likes to investigate and learn about his fellow flock's experiences with the Construct, and since he and Oppy never really met there (outside of Razor and MoC, but they haven't even talked to each other once during those), Skeptic is extra curious about what the routes he was in were like, what the Princesses looked like, how he acted during said routes, and so on, and so forth. Of course, he knows that Oppy was a notorious betrayer and backstabber, but he wants to hear about it from the man himself. Generally though, Oppy avoids the topic (until they get closer) because he doesn't really like talking about the Construct (the only exceptions are Wraith and Witch, which he talks about quite a bit as an explanation to his hurting right ankle and back, but that's more of an Oppy HC)

4. On the topic of Oppy's ankle, once they are actually in a romantic relationship, Oppy will sometimes pretend that his ankle hurts (or back, but usually ankle) just so that Skeptic can carry him places. Skeptic can very easily tell when Oppy is lying, so sometimes he goes, "You're not fooling anyone, Oppy," but sometimes, he plays along and goes, "Fine, just this once though" (it will happen again). Though, if Oppy's ankle actually genuinely hurts, and he's having trouble walking, Skeptic can usually tell that, and he will very gently carry him around even without asking. God, these birds make me so sick-

5. On the topic of the game routes, I'd like to think they would also bond over their experience with HEA (now that Skeptic is there instead of Paranoid). I feel like neither of them is particularly fond of that route (especially the "lit torch" ending), and I actually had a fic idea where Skeptic comforts Opportunist after the latter wakes up from an HEA-flashback-nightmare. Yes, I did also reference that idea in my "It was in your nature" fic. I will write that idea one day. Maybe-

6. Oppy is really good at figuring out everyone's likes/preferences without ever asking them directly, and of course, he did so for Skeptic, too. So whenever he brings Skeptic gifts, he just oh-so-happened to know that Skeptic's favorite flowers are irises, that he likes super dark chocolate, and that his favorite dessert is carrot cake. Skeptic tries to get Oppy to divulge where he learned these from, but Oppy just charmingly smiles (the answer is Smitten, and Skeptic figures that out fairly quickly, Grey brothers my beloved <3)

7. On the topic of Oppy figuring stuff out without asking, I don't remember if I ever mentioned this on my Tumblr, but I used to HC Skeptic as touch-averse aroace / demiromantic ace. If you've seen my recent Skeptunist art, you can probably tell that I've since changed my mind (and finally decided that he is a demiromantic ace), but I do still think that Skeptic is pretty particular about hugs and prefers certain gestures over others. He doesn't think it's that big of a deal, however, and wouldn't complain about that to Oppy, and if he ever mentions it, it'd be more of an "isn't it interesting" kind of statement. Oppy does his best to respect these preferences because as much as he is an annoying little rat, he doesn't want to make Skeptic uncomfortable, especially once he genuinely grows to care about him <3

8. On the topic of physical touch, I HC touch-starved Oppy (because of that one PatD line where he asks the Narrator about what Dragon's hand feels like) who desperately tries to hide that fact from everyone. Skeptic eventually figures that out (with some help from Smitten), and while Oppy is not happy about that, he does actually really appreciate physical contact: hand holding, hugs, cuddles, and more, though, of course, he will never actually admit that out loud.

9. They enjoy playing games together, specifically card games or stuff like chess. For chess specifically, a friend suggested this idea where Oppy, at first, has no idea how to play chess besides the basics, and so when they play, it's them mostly just chatting, and Skeptic barely paying attention to the game (he doesn't want Oppy to feel bad about not understanding the game)... but over time, Oppy actually learns different strategies and whatnot, and while Skeptic isn't paying attention, Oppy just puts him in checkmate. Wait, I actually have an old crappy sketch of that idea.

There you go, them! I had a few other HCs related to them playing board games with other voices (mainly that they would be scarily good at a game like Codenames together), but with the HEA update, I actually think now that they both would have trouble playing board games on a "voices game night" so they (along with Hero) don't really participate in those, at least not for a while.

10. Oppy is very embarrassed to admit that he hates and has trouble sleeping in pitch darkness. Skeptic, meanwhile, is a night owl who will stay up until 4 am reading books or writing random notes, so Oppy likes falling asleep in Skeptic's room since he always has a light/candle with a very soft/warm light. Yes, this is all set up for cuddles. No, I am not sorry /silly

11. Skeptic writes his notes almost exclusively shorthand, and none of the voices can read what the hell they say. Except for Opportunist, who learned shorthand just so that he can understand Skeptic's notes (and do just a little bit of snooping). Skeptic is fully aware of what Oppy is doing, but he doesn't mind, most of his notes are random nonsense anyway.

12. Skeptic often gets very lost in his readings/investigations/writing/whatever, and other voices often have to remind him to eat and take breaks and stuff. Of course, Oppy is one of them, and he constantly pokes fun at Skeptic for his terrible eating habits. But he also definitely brings Skeptic snacks and lunch, and also frequently takes him places just so that Skeptic actually takes a break (I certainly did not write a fic that started from that idea). In general, Oppy does a lot of small favors for Skeptic, which originally started as him trying to get on Skeptic’s good side, but as they got closer, it just became part of Oppy’s love language, if that makes sense. I imagine neither of them is good with words, so both express care in literally any way that’s not words /lh /exaggerated. 

13. They banter. A lot. It’s EG ship, and EG cannot live without banter. So of course that’s included in the ship [aggressively nods]

…Again, I am so sorry, this ended up so long, and it isn't even all of my HCs, those are just the ones I could remember off the top of my head like that. I, uh, am not okay about these birds. Please send help /lh /j

Anyways! Thank you for asking, I'm sure you got way, way more than you were expecting, I hope you enjoyed reading my silly HCs for my favorite silly ship! As long as it turned out, I do love yapping about my voices, my designs, and my silly HCs, so I genuinely always welcome these kinds of asks!!