#some of these went for longer than i intended 😅

[monochromatictoad]

🤎 Gabarie, 💕 Gabastle, 💗 Macul :>

🤎 multiple kisses / kisses all over / kiss after kiss

Marie sat by the entrance of the sanctuary. The millennium long war was over. Gabriel and Trevor had defeated Satan and brought peace back to the world. She looked over at Victor, who was busy giving vaccines to the survivors, before looking back at the entrance.

A chill came over her, and she jumped up. They were back! "Trevor!" She ran to her son before he could fully enter the sanctuary. She presses a kiss to his cheek and hugs him close. Marie let go when her Gabriel stepped into the sanctuary. "Gabriel." She looked him over. The exhaustion radiated off of him. She couldn't contain herself, and threw her arms around his neck. The hug was tight and warm.

She pulls away to hold his face in her hands. The bags under his eyes made his face look hollow and bruised. "My love?" He whispers to her. Tears stream down her face. "I've missed you so much, my love." She whispers and presses kisses to his face. Those bruised eyes. The hollow cheeks. The crook in his nose from where it got set wrong when they were kids. Everything. She had a millennia to make up for.

💕 kissing somewhere other than lips

Dracul leaned back on his throne. Screams, flesh being torn, and metal hitting the stone flooring was the symphony for which he watched the Brotherhood knights get devoured by the Castle.

The last man falls, and those bloody tendrils twitched with excess energy. It wasn't satisfied with the battle and it showed this displeasure with it wrapping itself around its Prince. Dracul chuckles coldly at this display.

"I know. They have only grown more pathetic haven't they?" He purrs in a sickeningly sweet tone. The blood puddle hisses and bubbles. Pathetic creatures. They will never be able to hurt you, It growls in his mind. Dracul smirks, lifting one of those bloody tendrils to his mouth. He plants a small kiss to it, before showing how much he truly appreciates his guardian.

💗 slow kiss / gentle kiss / inevitable / soft

The sun was warm in the garden. Mathias was sitting on a blanket, eating some sliced apples with cinnamon and honey. He was engrossed in a book of alchemy The Toymaker let him borrow. Well, he would be, if the laughter coming from his left wasn't there.

Turning his head, Dracul was being swarmed by Mandragoras, who were determined to get the fruit slices from him. Mathias rolled his eyes playfully at the scene and laughed as Dracul finally managed to get the little plant beings off of him.

"Have some difficulties there?" Mathias chuckled as Dracul laid his head in his lap.

"No. They're never difficult."

"You're just saying that because you have a bias towards them."

Mathias laughs at the pout that Dracul gives him. After being around the Vampire Lord for so long, reading him becomes easy, like the book that was no longer in his lap. Dracul's pout deepens at the laughter. The alchemist shakes his head and leans down, the prince leaning his head up, and they meet in the middle with a promise. A promise for more gentle moments in the future. They part slowly, neither one truly wanting to leave the other.

[lily-alphonse]

I turned Mr Qi into a cat and…

Well, I didn't. Let me explain

So I've been going through Pelican Town transforming the residents into cats right? And @kellycataclysm suggested I should do Mr. Qi next buuuuut

he scares the shit out of me *cough*

What? the man cryptid thing(?) could kill me so easily I'm not fucking with him. So I asked if I could transform him into a cat and uhh

“What, like this?”

“Not really, I'd have made you like, a housecat”

“Oh, but this is far more fun”

“For you, maybe.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be doing this to get the attention of a certain wizard would you?”

“Heh, you aren't the first to ask me that.”

“And you didn't answer me, but that’s alright. Anyway you’ve got it. He’s onto you.”

“He’s onto me. You say that like I'm conducting some evil scheme.”

“Aren't you?”

“No! Its just harmless fun. I turn them right back, too. Usually.”

“Mhm. Run along now farmer.”

“Yep. Running.”

It went well I think! 😅

Did anyone guess he wasn't going to be any normal cat? Lol you know I HAD to do something special for him. And I'm using him to extend my NPCats adventure lore.

I had even bigger dreams for this portrait but I've now been working on it for much longer than originally intended so this is what we get. This is probably the only cat I will upload this week due to the extra effort I hope you understand ♥️♥️

Who should I transform next? SDV NPCats Masterlist here

@henarikat come get your man

[exo-raskreia]

hey.... i wanna know your honest Thoughts on the jjk ending? Give a rating out 10. Honestly i'm ranting. I mean the good things in the chapter were sukuna's conclusion, the flashback with gojo , queen utahime being alive yay and the nice art with everyone at the end. Usually i would wait for a story to finish before ranting/judging but my god this kinda sucked. I don't want to be too critical but god I am just disappointed and kinda mad. Overall it is an okay/mid manga ;). Gege is not worst writer but ughh. Aot or mha sure they have their flaws but my god..These should never be compared to THIS. so now we could really say that gojo stayed south. With the full chapter, this does not change my opinion cause it still kinda sucks overall even with the whole north vs south meaning. Nothing really changed in the society or lessons maybe except for yuji and sukuna. The kiddos all really went back to missions huh after everything. I have alot to say with relationships and bonds, wasted potential on many aspects but that is a whole other discussion. i totally understand we can't write a backstory for every single character but that is not what i am insinuating here and yes there should be room for a little literary interpretation . That a whole different topic... Anyways I agree with alot your rants. i would like to hear your opinions. In the end we never got to see a gjhm flashback unfortunately. Ok so let say gojo is dead dead I find it hard to believe no was like remembering or acknowledging not even his comrades ( examples shoko, utahime etc_ or the students (i mean i am pretty sure these characters would but i would like to SEE it you know) and so many hints were gearing for gojo's revival but it is meaningless... and was used for pr ngl that's sad. Maybe the anime would do better at some aspects but i will be salty anyways. i will see uta's dance ;) animated so that i looking forward to and ig the maki's massacre. it looks like it's open ending but really!? They are some loop holes but HEY FEAR not we will probably see answers to our questions in the q&a segment! sigh. I lowkey do not want a "jjk part 2" it is draining. Gege when i catch you. I think gege intended this story to be short oh well. I have alot to say but this gonna be a novel lol. Sorry for errors i was in a moment and i hoped you understood what i wanted to say. Hope the gojohime fandom would not die and looking forward to see some nice content.

Thankyou

I already went on a mini rant here. If I have to rate the ending, I'd say maybe 2-4 out of 10?

JJK really did turn out kinda mid. It has an easy anime to get into (the anime carries it mostly 🫣), to recommend for newbies, but that ending will make one hesitate to recommend it now. Maybe wouldn't even bother to.

I'm also disappointed & mad. I don't even wanna consider that Gojo is fully dead (cuz Gege went about it so terribly). Gege skipped Gojo's whole month after his unsealing then killed him off-panel a few chapters later. The north & south thing was pointless. We didn't even get to see Gojo make a choice. There were so many hints about his potential revival but they amounted to nothing.

Summed up in this image:

This Tweet sums up the terrible mishandling of Gojo's character too 😡. This other short thread pretty much says that his "death" didn't make sense for Gojo either; accepting to stay at the airport is him regressing to his teen self. It doesn't properly conclude Gojo's character arc at all. He was meant to MOVE ON from the loss of his "springtime of youth" & continue to strive for a better future with his comrades & students; the future that HE DREAMED OF 😤 (oof, don't wanna rant further on Gojo; don't wanna make this longer 😅).

Honestly, the fan theories made the story seem much better than it actually was. At least with this ending, people can finally start seeing & admitting that Gege isn't a great writer. I've certainly never thought he was 😒; I once went on a rant here about most issues with this manga, one of them being how terribly fast-paced it is. This story is the definition of wasted potential. So many missed opportunities.

Whatever Gege comes up with for the databook, it'll be infuriating. He'll try to fill in the plot holes but man, I don't think it'll be satisfying. He might not even answer the burning questions everyone has (just like Kub0 never answered everyone's burning questions about the Bl3ach ED, or more like, no one dared to ask. Maybe he himself didn't allow those questions for his interviews 😒). Hope ppl don't give him any more money, especially cuz he's still milking Gojo, such as with that Hidden Inventory movie no one asked for.

I kinda wanted a Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ending (lol) & then on to the supposed JJK part 2, esp cuz of this sketch here but Gege fumbled hard.

Wonder if Mappa could deliver but we'll see. I only care about GojoHime's 200% Hollow Purple now. Gege made me lose most interest I had for other things getting animated. Just thinking about that ending will mostly ruin my experience... ����

I also hope the GojoHime fandom continues to thrive. We've always lived off of crumbs... Hope ppl continue to make headcanons, fanfics, fanart, etc... I wouldn't want ppl to leave such a beautiful ship with so much potential 🥺 (I've been thru this type of thing before with Bl3ach, so despite the disappointment, I've stuck around in my ship fandoms only. I don't engage with anything else in that series. Another beloved series of mine also ended terribly but unfortunately, the fandom kinda faded or became inactive cuz it's a manhwa 🥺; if it at least had a proper anime adaptation, then...).

Let's stay strong, GojoHime fam! 🥹❤️‍🩹

[drunkwithmouthwash]

There was something that made me think for a while: if she was first intended to be Anya's partner, how u came up with the idea of her being with jimbob at some point? I would like to know bc there's a big gap there n all. I mean, a healthy to unhealthy gap. It made me curious abt the reasoning! Also I didn't rb before your post sorry for that 😩

(Sorry for late response dear)

I guess that decision was affected by my own personal feelings towards the characters during the creative process :’) The first time I watched a let’s play of MW, I was left feeling very protective of Anya and I HATED Jim with a burning passion. So, originally, Sammy was gonna be an ex-military, roughed and kinda buff, and she was going to protect Anya (here’s a rough sketch I made of that, plz don’t mind the anatomy or flawed perspective, I was experimenting 🤣)

But as days went by… You know, I kept having MW in the brain, and started to realize that the one that had actually made a VERY PROFOUND IMPACT on me had been Jim. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and thinking about him would make me so angry. Like, I really, REALLY FUCKING HATED him. But it got to a point in which I was like “…Wow. I don’t know how long it’s been since a character has made me feel something so intensely.” And then I started to appreciate him more for the character and the villain that he is. He is SO WELL DONE, like I bow down to Wrong Organ. So… little by little, love started to bloom from that hatred, and I wanted to use Sammy to express those feelings :’3 (Don’t be fooled tho, the love and hate I feel for him go hand in hand and neither replaces the other. I still hate him for his actions in the game and rejoice whenever I see fanarts of him getting what he deserves, lawfully or violently, but I love him as a character all the same, and who am I kidding? I do find him physically attractive, he’s my type lmao).

Now, in regards to Jim and Sammy’s relationship, I’m obviously well aware that Jim is not a sweet pea, and that if they were to be together romantically, it would be a terrible, terrible relationship. Since Sammy is a self insert, I decided to have her know better than to stay with him, and, well… that reminded me of a personal experience that I had with an ex boyfriend of mine :’) Thankfully, my ex was NOT NEARLY AS BAD as Jim (it would be like comparing a newborn tabby kitten to a full grown tiger lmao), but I still knew that he was no good for me and that I deserved better, so I broke up with him. However, I was still so madly in love with him, and stayed in love with him for around 10 years 🫠 I went to therapy, “got over him”, and then cried for him again the next time I saw him. Took me a LOOOOOT to finally get over him for good, but I was able to have closure. And, well… I decided to base Sammy and Jim’s relationship on that. She knows she deserves better, and she’s not afraid to hold him accountable for the things he says and does, but deep down she’s still very much in love with him (and those feelings will ultimately doom her) YwY

Anyway, I should probably wrap this up before it keeps getting longer 😅😅 I’m so sorry

Thank you for coming to my ted talk ❤️

[nerdieforpedro]

A Certain Fae's Melancholy

Jack Daniels (Fae) x GN reader

My entire masterlist and blog are for readers 18+ MDNI. I do not consent to my work being used in AI, recommended on TikTok, borrowed or plagiarized.

Summary: You were lulled into a world you never asked for and the reason that Jack Daniels wanders.

Warnings: Angst, Attempt at Humor, Shifting perspectives, Drinking, Alcohol. References to Depression, Scheming, Stalking, Lonely souls, Mild Sexual Content, Aging, Sorrow, Character Death

Word Count: less than 3k

Notes: This is for the Monster (S)mash challenge hosted by @quinnnfabrgay-writes and @hauntedhowlett-writes. This wasn't this fic I intended to write, but it's the fic that I wrote. I certainly smashed something with this, just not what I expected.

Not Beta-read, back on my "shoot it out there and hope for the best" mantra. This is the first thing I've written in a few weeks so...could be why maybe? 😅

Main Masterlist/ Jack Daniels-Agent Whiskey Masterlist/ Challenges Masterlist/ AO3 Link

The low rumble of laughter rouses you from your slumber. You don’t remember falling asleep. Only that you’d come to these woods while it was daylight. The sun is setting, it must have been at least a few hours but you suspect longer. Looking down at your arm, your wristwatch is gone. No use trying to tell time now.

Taking a deep breath, someone is watching you, likely the same person whose laughter woke you. He’s tall wearing a tan stenson, tipping it toward you like a greeting with a grin as he steps toward you from underneath the shadow of one of the towering trees. It’s then that you realize two things: the first is that the trees look different from the gray-brown wood that are near your home; the second is that you know this man. Your conversations have been increasing in number and you found yourself coming to appreciate his appearances at your local bar. They weren’t too often, meaning he wasn’t there every time you went, but enough that he seemed to be a regular.

“Now that’s sweet of you sugar. You got that little rabbit’s foot I let you borrow for your interview. How did that go?” The observation and question don’t match the situation. You find that despite the unease you feel, you take his large hand as he guides you to your feet and steadies you. The grin softens into a smile and he pats your head, pushing questions that your should be asking him aside, you utter two words that bind you closer to him without realizing: 

“Thank you.” His hand glides from your lower back to the nape of your neck, his thumb stroking your exposed skin and it is warm at the friction, but cool to the touch. “Your hands are cold Jack. That old saying might be true, ‘cold hands make for a warm heart’ and all that.” It’s your turn to join him in making birds vacate the trees at the boom of your combined glee. 

Looking up into Jack’s eyes and they flash a bright shade of green and it catches your attention, to both the color and the direction that you both are heading. You don’t remember walking with him or him stating a direction. He takes one of your hands in his and interlocks your fingers. “Now, now, gorgeous. Don’t be scared. You’ve already given me so much, a little bit more won’t hurt.” Slowly making your way up the steps of an all white house. It appears almost brand new, everything is painted, the door is a crimson red with emerald ivy having overgrown and covers up part of the front of the porch. It’s a stark contrast, given that the shutters are a sienna brown as is the roof. Jack says your name and points down, your name appears after his on the doormat welcoming any would-be visitors to what you presume to be your shared home now. Once inside, Jack eases you down on the couch and pats your thigh. “Now. I’ll give you time to adjust, I see the wheels turning in the noggin of yours.” His rough palm cups your cheek and you place your hand on his, to remove you had thought but then you remember some of the conversations you’ve had with Jack at the bar. 

The first time you met Jack, you made a cowboy joke. He expected it given the form he decided to take on. He finds that many men and women are attached to the allure of a rugged cowboy and possibly being the one to tame them. Daniels had gotten this same sense and considered just having some fun romps in your bed and not thinking twice about it. Unlike many of the humans he’d encountered, he found you funny. Jack normally laughed when he’d perceived that it was socially acceptable to do so. Thankfully, being alive for five or six centuries, he’d gotten the hang of figuring out when to do so. The years blend together and so do the various humans, you stuck out to him. He genuinely laughed while the two of you drank that night. He was able to have the first two pieces of getting his next fix of companionship: deciding on you as his partner and your name. 

The second time Jack saw you at the bar, he was upfront and told you what he was, a fae. A creature that has seen empires and civilizations come and go, explored a myriad of cultures and experienced maybe that many lovers. Not many companions though. Powerful beings are typically lonely after all. You followed that up stating that you had Scottie beam you down and were going to give the humans in area fifty-one to talk about. You could make some of those probes happen with a tentacle or two and would ask to borrow some of Daniels’ fairy dust to sprinkle on a few of your friends to give them some good luck. Also to get a few of them laid, they whined about that a bit. While Jack did get a kick of what your plan was if you were an alien, he assured you that indeed he was a fae and not a fairy. “That’s some Disney horse shit sugar.” 

Subsequent nights were spent with you sharing different details of your life with Jack and him telling you different stories of his adventures. He knew you weren’t taking him seriously, likely believing him to be full of tall tales and bluster, but it was the night that you told him of your interview for a higher position at your job that his eyebrows raised. He’d been trying to think of something to give you that wouldn’t seem too out of the blue, something that you would accept with limited questions. He just needs it to be something of his, that way he can draw you further into his world. Most people would have blown off someone seemingly talking out of the side of the neck or giving so many false (to you) accounts of different events, but Jack knew that glint in your eye. He’d gotten you excited to hear what outrageous tale he would tell you next. “Next time I see ya, I’ll have a little somethin’.” You’d mentioned that your interview was next month, so Jack would take a week, maybe a week and half off. Distance creates longing and it would be less suspicious when he saw you the next time. 

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t still see you of course, you just wouldn’t know. That was how he discovered you’d spoken to someone about him. Actually that same friend group you wanted to use his so-called ‘fairy dust’ on. Daniels does appreciate that you speak of him in a positive light, it’s nice to hear, but the fact that you mentioned him at all is the third piece of his plan. One he hadn’t been counting on and he considers a happy accident. Encounters with fae are not to be spoken of, not that you wouldn’t have known. It’s part of the game and Jack is more than half of the way there. 

Feeling you embrace him in a side hug with a hand clasped on his shoulder, Jack Daniels can be honest with himself that he’s begun to care about you and that it may not be just a companion he wants - he may want a relationship. One of those give and take sorts that he hasn’t experienced since the Industrial Revolution, after a shot or three of whiskey is when he gives you a good luck charm - the rabbit’s foot. The very same that you hold in your hand as you sit on the couch. He’d wished you good luck on your interview then. 

Jack has taken to the kitchen and is making black tea with honey. Normally it would have milk, but as he mentions when he gives you your cup, he despises the taste of milk. “Only good in cereal, baked or cooked in something. Don’t want none unless it’s one of those three.” 

“So, am I just going to be here now, with you? I also didn’t get the job. Guess the charm didn’t work.” You look down at the tea, unable to meet his eyes. Your anger at the situation is starting to seep in at how you’ve been lulled into coming to a secluded house with this man and he’s clearly targeted you, but he’s being polite about it. “All of this is disconcerting Jack.” Your lips nearly touch the mug before he speaks.

“I was upfront with everything darlin’ and told you I’m a fae. We ain’t like them fairies in the story books or movies. We like entertainment and mischief. Think like that twiggy guy who’s always fightin’ with his brother but less daddy issues and no delusions of grandour.” Slurping his tea, he runs his tongue along his upper lip and smirks as you watch. “You can act like you don’t wanna be here, but I didn’t ask you to keep talking to me, give me your name, or to even come to these woods. You were trying to get promoted because your job is always putting the cart way before the horse and making you deal with it for less pay. You’re lonely just like I am and tired of it. Now if you wanna stay, you drink that tea and I can stay by your side until the end of your days. I’m a man of my word.”

“Is something in this tea?” You stare at it and it smells and looks ordinary. His words sting, you’d told him too much about how you feel about your life right now. His ochre brown eyes are fixed on you, matching them you see it. The emptiness that looks back at you when you ready yourself in the morning and when prepping for bed at night. “The void. It truly is the same for you isn’t it? But won’t be painful for you when I’m gone? My life has got to be a few blips in your lifetime. Wouldn’t I be getting more out of this?”

“One might see it that way, but I’m different from most fae. They’re fine being on their own for the most part, but allows those in who I feel I may be able to build a life with, even if it isn’t that long. If there’s one enviable thing about you humans, you match one another in time where I also seem to have too much of it.” Jack removes his stenson and lays it on the coffee table, sipping more of his tea with his eyes still on you. “Tea’s getting cold sugar. What’s it gonna be?”

Maybe you were swayed by his words, maybe it was your own feelings of someone who understood what it feels to know the pangs of heartache were, maybe it was the chance to escape everything and start anew on a curious journey that very few have had the privilege of. Gulping down the tea gave you your first view of a surprised Jack Daniels. His mug clattered on the table next to his hat and he grabs you by the shoulders. “Hot damn baby! Looks like you’re ridin’ with me for the long haul!” 

Slowly, food you had been used to eating lost its taste. Jack explained that because you were now eating food he prepared, you were becoming more acclimated to the fae world. About a month in, Jack showed you where he gathered the food he prepared. It turns out, it’s actually odd little berries that he uses magic to make them appear and taste like foods you’re more familiar with. Picking the fruits is a fun outing and leads to the two of you getting caught in the rain, where you had your first kiss with Jack. The only reason it took this long is because he was indeed a fae true to his word and wasn’t going to force you to do anything you weren’t ready for. He also explained after you kiss, that he may have had to initiate soon because his kiss or other intimate contact would protect you from the Fae Queen. It sounded like one of his many jokes, but by this point, all of them as they relate to fae have proven not to be jokes. 

Things progressed quickly after that, it seems having less of an appetite for substance led to other needs strengthening. At first you thought it was just Jack’s libido that was high as he normally sought you out around the house, but when you pushed him on his back flat on the dining room table and you riding him like one of the bucking broncos he normally joked about, it was clear that sex had replaced food for you too. 

Over the next few decades, Jack took you across the seas, continents, deserts, plains and more. In the span of ten years, you’d nearly crossed off all the places on a bucket list you’d compiled. You aged slower due to your consumption of the fae fruit, but time still marched on and Jack looked the same as the day you’d met him. Mustache still dark and bushy, all his hair atop his head and a beautiful shade of umber. His excitement and joy at watching you marvel at what he could show you kept him going. Jack knew he could do it as long as he had you with him, holding his hand and laughing like in that forest all those years ago. 

Daniels had also taken you to explore the fae world, it was on a different plane than the human one, almost overlapping at different points but also had fixed pockets of space. He told a few of the fae about your old joke about fairy dust and they did give you some. It was disappointing though, only made your hands itchy. The fae would come visit you both at your home as they found you quite interesting. Apparently, you’re the longest lasting human Jack has been with, usually they’re dead by now according to them. Jack hushes them but you wonder how many have been before you, it can’t have been that many but it does cross your mind sometimes, even when Jack it rutting into you or if you’re looking up at him as you help relax with your throat after spending another afternoon watching the sun set again in Aruba. 

With your advancing age, you and Jack travel less and he’s more careful with you. Almost like you’re made of glass which you assure him you’re not. Neither of your parents were glassmakers. Still with that humor that Daniels loves. He’s thankful that you’ve made it to your twilight years, well past your eightieth year. Daniels still sees that funny soul that keeps his heart feeling light with every touch and verbal exchange. A rather odd couple that draws many an eye when you’re out and about, such an older partner for this hearty cowboy, if only they knew the truth. It is not for them to know.

Just as it is not for anyone to know what Jack Daniels sounds like when he assumes you were asleep when he arrived home from gathering more fruit for the two of you. Your body, always so pleasantly heated when he’d rest his head in your lap or on your shoulder. Even the touch of your hand was a tepid treat against his cool skin, but today it matches his. Jack wants to toss the idea away and just carry you inside to warm you up by the fire but he knows it will do nothing. Your skin will remain cold as that humorous soul he loved is no longer there.

Jack Daniels finds that your death is the hardest he’s experienced thus far. He was able to have you with him for decades. His home is now barren and the fruit he has gathered doesn’t matter. The solitude he had eliminated with your presence has returned with such an abrupt embrace. Daniels fights it as he picks your body up and carries it to the backyard, though he did not stop there.

No one, fae or human has seen Jack Daniels since. It could be he has assumed a new form and identity, but most believe that he’s still wandering somewhere with the remains of the one he loved the most in both worlds: You.

A few people who may be interested in the sads 😭: @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @readingiskeepingmegoing @604to647 @lady-bess

@morallyinept @trulybetty @maggiemayhemnj @tinytinymenace @angelofsmalldeath-codeine

@guelyury @yorksgirl @fhatbhabiee

[fictional-teakettle]

Waiting for the Cocoa to Cool ☕

In which Gus gets angsty about the whole becoming-a-villain thing, and Pen makes him cocoa. She also makes him laugh himself silly.

⚠️ This is a ticklefic! If that ain't your thing, kindly move along ⚠️

🫂 Pairing: Lee!Gus, Ler!Pen (100% platonic, 200% consensual, sfw)

‼️CW/TW: Gus curses like a sailor, you have been warned 😂 If there are any trigger warnings you'd like me to add (to this piece any/or any work in the future), please let me know!

While I adore both, I'm much more comfy with writing as a medium than drawing. So I thought I'd write a quick lil ticklefic to introduce Gus a bit more organically than my typical habit of infodumping. 😅 This fic ended up being much longer than I anticipated, but hey - what's wrong with extra tickles? Nothing I can think of.

Hope you enjoy! -🐧

"You want some cocoa, hun?"

I don't wait for an answer - I've already made two mugs. Gus will never refuse cocoa (not my cocoa, anyway).

Besides, he's staring out at the rain, which means he's too lost in thought to register anything I say anyway. His reverie only breaks when I set his mug beside him on the end table, directly in his line of vision, and plop myself down on the sofa beside him.

"Did you tell them about me?"

Look at that. Bailey owes me five bucks. He thought it'd take Gus a couple minutes before he started fretting about my new project.

"I gave them a little introduction." I pat his hand. "There's an awful lot to know about you, hun."

"Right, but did you tell them about... you know..."

How 'bout that! Bailey owes me ten.

"Vaguely." I set my mug down on the coffee table. "I said you went off the deep end for a bit."

Gus manages a mirthless little scoff of a chuckle. "There's an understatement."

"I mean, that's what happened," I shrug. "You just... lost your head for a while."

"I dunno, Pen. I think there was a little more to it than that."

"Mm. That's a topic for future posts."

Gus looks away.

He's right, of course - there's a lot more to it. Just... not a lot that matters to us now, in my cozy living room, listening to the rain patter on the window. The only problem is that Gus can't stay present to save his life.

But that's why I made the cocoa. Nothing heals like cocoa, in my humble opinion (especially my cocoa).

Unfortunately it's still too hot to drink. I gotta think of some other way to distract him before he starts ruminating on-

"Are you sure you don't wanna start with Hazel?"

I stifle a sigh. "Gus, love, we talked about this, remember?"

"I'm just saying, the villain isn't the one who deserves a-"

"You're not the villain."

"Well, I was sure acting like one!"

"Because you were high as a kite on Dr. Jekyll's axe-crazy-monster juice."

"That I made myself!"

"You didn't intend to drink it." I lean back. "You just needed it for... you know. Vengeance..."

Gus throws me a flat look. He's right, this conversation isn't really going a productive direction.

"Look," I try again, " You're not in that story anymore. You were never even supposed to be in that story in the first place. If anyone deserves a soft epilogue, in a new place, it's you."

"But so do you." Gus meets my gaze for the first time in the whole conversation. "Your life got fucked up, too. If you're gonna go to all this trouble, you deserve to focus on your own epilogue."

"Why do you think you're sitting in my living room?" I squeeze his hand. "You're my comfort character, Gus. We're in this together."

"What's that?"

"Comfort character? It means you make me feel safe."

He blinks. "...Oh."

"You're my comfiest comfort character." I scoot closer and rest my head on his shoulder.

I can feel a bit of the tension in his muscles ease at the cuddle. "You're makin' me sound like a stuffed animal," he mutters good-naturedly.

"Mm."

"I think Hazel's a lot better at comforting that I am though, personally..."

This man. Cannot. Let anything go.

Which means it's time to switch tactics.

"Hey, you know what I forgot to tell them about you?"

"I mean, Hazel's a fairy godmother." He's no longer listening. "Comfort is her whole-" At least he isn't until right about here, when he freezes mid-phrase.

He hadn't even noticed me slip my arm behind his back, but he's definitely noticed that I'm now walking the fingers of both hands up his sides.

"Don't let me interrupt you, hun..."

"Ohhh no, you don't!"

"You were saying...?"

"Pen, cheheh- cut that out!"

"No, no, continue, I insist!"

"Pen!" His voice cracks even on this one syllable.

"I'm just demonstrating a little detail I forgot to mention to our readers."

Finally, twisting to face me, he manages to snag both my wrists and hold them still. "Wh-What do they need to know that for?!"

"What do they need to know what for?" I smile sweetly.

"That I'm-" He's so flustered he just barely catches himself.

I flash him a wide grin. "You wanna tell 'em, honey?"

He just squirms - struggling with an uncharacteristically silly grin of his own that he doesn't entirely seem to realize he's making. "Over my cold, dead-"

Mm, I don't need to hear the end of that threat. I easily break my wrists from his grasp and set to work on his adorable little belly.

The detail I forgot to tell you is that Gus is devastatingly ticklish.

"WaitwaitWAIT Pehehen, staHAhp!!"

Gus isn't a loud guy. Even his full-out cackling barely makes it above most folks' normal speaking voice. But what he lacks in volume he makes up for in intensity - he's got the most contagious, helpless laughter I've ever heard in my life. The best I can describe it is quietly maniacal.

"Stopstopstopit-getOFFmehehe!!" He also has an adorable tendency to babble incoherently when he gets nervous - or flustered, in this case. Especially if I get 'im right up under his ribs...

"ACK! Pehehen! Penstop I cahan't- Ihi-"

The nice thing about this spot is that I can wiggle my fingers right up under his diaphragm, so his own giggling starts to tickle.

"I can't st-stop! AHahaha- plehehehease!!"

It's definitely a spot to use sparingly, else he'll run out of air. I give him another few tweaks before sitting back, beaming as he catches his breath.

"This is... heh... c-completely unnecessary," he mutters, his hands wavering defensively over his midsection.

"If only there was something you could say to make me stop," I sigh, throwing a sorrowful glance to the ceiling. In reply I receive his best attempt at a scowl (which, since he's still grinning like an idiot, isn't a very convincing attempt).

Gus is so sensitive - both physically and emotionally - that I'd never dare touch him if we didn't have a safeword. But I've never in our entire friendship heard him use it. This boy soaks up physical affection like a ticklish little sponge.

And right now, in my expert opinion, he could use a little more of it.

I can't help but coo over the way his tummy deflates in anticipation as I hover one hand over his waist. All I have to do is rest my fingertips against the soft fabric of his sweater, and he collapses into helpless giggles.

It occurs to me, I don't think I've mentioned Gus' accent yet either. It's little more than a slight lilt most of the time, but when he's flustered like this becomes much more pronounced.

I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to be, exactly - technically it's Drearish, the regional dialect from the fictional village where he grew up. Whoever directed the movie he came from seemed to be going for some vague German-Slavic-Transylvanian hodgepodge.

Regardless, it's cute as heck. Especially when he's so overwhelmed that he starts trying to curse me out in Drearish.

Not that he doesn't have a perfectly sufficient vocabulary of English curse words to throw at me...

"I svehehear to - shihit, fuck! - I vill breheak your FUHUCKING - heheheh! - your fingers!! Your... dammit, getoffme!!"

...But the trick is to sneak my hands under his sweater and start scribbling directly against the soft pudge of his lower tummy. That really does him in.

"What did you just call me?!"

"I saheheh-" [incomprehensible] "you fuhuckin'-" [unintelligible] "if you don't-" [...frankly this could be English or Drearish, it's so garbled by laughter I can't tell].

"Sorry, didn't catch that," I tease.

He lapses into silent laughter for a few seconds. "Okay, okahahay, enough! Enough!"

Enough isn't our safeword (that would be nightshade) but it's kind of an informal one since he doesn't use it very often. It's become a code for I'm getting tired.

So I withdraw my hands from beneath his sweater, and start rubbing slow circles on his tummy. Even this still tickles him, but only enough to elicit soft little breathless chuckles. I'm mostly doing it because his tummy is just so irresistibly soft and warm... but also my hand is trapped so tightly beneath both his arms that I'm starting to lose feeling in my fingers.

Our cocoa has gone cold by the time we return to our mugs. Neither of us mind very much.

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

@starrjoy

Another Sonic and Tails headcanon thingie: these two have their unique ways of greeting each other whenever they come home, whether they were gone for a day or only 20 minutes. One of them is what Tails tends to use since it’s his absolute favorite one, the infamous koala hug attack.

For this one, in story form!

Word count: ...idk I literally wrote this in my drafts on here so I have no idea other than it went longer than originally intended 🙃 😅

====

Sonic clutched the bags tightly in his arms as he felt his shoes skid hard against the ground as he got near the porch of the living quarters of the workshop, nearly losing his balance in the process. A fresh coat of slightly, wet dirt now covered the bottom of his sneakers from heel to toe as he walked up the steps.

He hastily wiped his feet on the mat in front of the door, already picturing the complaints he was going to receive about tracking dirt across the floorboards again if he didn't...again.

It's not like Tails wasn’t guilty of it either, he just got at him because he tends to do it the most. Though it didn’t mean that he himself wasn’t fed up with it.

Managing to open the door with his elbow, he shuffled into the living room and dropped the bags onto the kitchen island, quickly catching some of the cans that spilled out of the bag.

"Geez, I swear that bagger was just stuffing all this stuff in here." He grumbled out loud, stacking the cans in the cabinet and putting the rest of the groceries away in a few seconds.

He brushed off his hands and glanced around the room. "Tails? You here, bud?"

There wasn’t any sound of thudding footsteps coming closer to him, or a voice calling out in response, or just any answer at all. That wasn't much of a surprise since he tended to leave the workshop more and more recently to just take a walk and explore the area.

As long as he wasn’t cooped up in his lab all day, that was good enough for him.

He moved to speak into his wrist comm to check in with Tails when his ears perked and heard some shuffling coming from behind him. Turning around, he was mildly surprised to see that nothing was there.

It mildly surprised him due to the fact barely anything could sneak up on him due to the years of training exercises he carried out, though it didn't explain why he was still hearing the shuffling all around him.

Sonic paused and let out a groan. "Oh boy, I hope it isn't another mouse that snuck inside the lab again. That was another whole week of stress that I won't get back." He mumbled softly to himself, rubbing a hand over his face.

What he did hear next definitely surprised him, considering it had been a while since he's even heard it, a few short giggles broke through the silence causing him to freeze and look around the room confused.

"Uh, Tails?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a quick flash of yellow disappears from view near one of the rafters on the ceiling, with that same shuffling noise following suit before it went silent again.

He didn't acknowledge that he saw the kit being bad at hiding, but he knew full well who it was, and the little tradition that they haven't done in a couple of years.

Sonic smirked to himself. 'Oh wow. We're playing this game again, huh? It's definitely been a while. But if it's what the kid wants to do...'

He played along, placing his hands on his hips, and feigned a worried voice. "Oh dear, I wonder where my little buddy Tails is. I just can't seem to find him anywhere!"

Sonic walked around the room, looking around dramatically under the table, around the couch, and into the kitchen cabinets. He audibly let out a sigh and leaned against the kitchen island, placing the back of his hand on his forehead.

"Tails? Oh, where for art thou Tails? My brother? Mi amigo? My honorary pride and joy. Lost forever to where I can never follow him." He kept his voice light and teasing, grinning when it earned him more giggling.

He moseyed on over directly under the one rafter where he knew Tails was hiding and put his arms up in defeat. "Hmm, he doesn't seem to be in here. I guess I was just imagining hearing him this whole time."

A slight creak was heard above him as he waited and braced himself for the attack. "3, 2, 1...."

"Nooo!….not the...koala hug trap…the cuteness…it’s too much for my body to handle..." He fell to his knees and hunched over, wrapping an arm around Tails and purposely squeezing closer to him in the process.

"Koala attack!" Tails yelled and dropped down, flying right into Sonic and wrapping his arms and legs around his torso.

Both of his tails wagged as he nuzzled his head under Sonic’s chin. The hedgehog lets out a groan from the impact, both to add to the part and to that the kid was a bit heavier than he remembered. He decided to suck it up and take it like a man...er, hedgehog.

"I can feel...all my energy depleting....I think I see a light. Mom, is that you?" Sonic fell over on his side, Tails snickered as he continued to hang onto him. "Goodbye cruel world....I'll miss you."

He finishes by rolling over on his back, closing his eyes, and lolled his head to the side, finalizing his "ultimate death." He stayed silent for a moment before he felt Tails shift around on his chest and felt a finger poking at his cheek. He peeked an eye open and saw him beaming a wide smile at him.

"Hi."

"Well, hi to you too." He poked a finger to Tails' nose, switching to giving a scratch behind the kit's ear. "So, mind explaining why you decided to ambush me like a crazy maniac today?

Tails laid his head back down, deeply enjoying the ear scritches. "Nope."

Sonic chuckled. "OK then." He placed his head down in turn and stared up at the ceiling.

After a few moments, Sonic cleared his throat, making Tails look up at him. "You uh, gonna let me up anytime soon? I gotta get dinner started soon."

Tails shook his head, the playful gleam shining in his eyes. "You know the rule in order to escape the hug trap, Sonic, unless you wanna be stuck here forever you gotta pay the toll."

Sonic gave out a little hum. "Actually, I change my mind, I kinda want to be stuck here. The floor is pretty comfy."

"But what if you need to use the bathroom?"

"I'll just crawl on the floor and take you along with me."

He heard Tails give a snort in amusement. "Yeah sure, you barely go in there to take a shower."

Sonic gave a hard flick to his ear, "Says alot for the guy hugging me in a death grip right now."

"Shut up, I know my limits to your body odor and this is a mere exception. Besides, you still need to pay the release toll."

"Oh right, the toll," Sonic pauses, pretending to be clueless. "Uh, what was it again?"

"You already know what it is."

"Do I now?"

Tails sighed lightly, trying to sound like he was annoyed. "Yes!"

"I do? Huh, I don’t seem to recall what it is-."

"Sooniiiic.."

"OK, Alright. One toll payment coming up." He sat up and wrapped his arms around Tails, resting his cheek on top of his head. The kit in turn squeezed his hug tighter, letting out a laugh as Sonic began to quickly rock their bodies side to side.

"Was that a good payment for ya?"

"Oh yeah, totally worth all those overdue bills you've been ignoring." Tails said lightly.

"Ah, speaking of which, I still have one more from this morning I haven't paid for. Better late than never!" He finishes by pulling him closer and wrapping him in a even tighter hug, a one where Tails could barely move his arms.

"Ow! Okay, you paid your debt! That's too tight!" Sonic released him and watched as Tails held his sides seemingly in pain.

Sonic got up and looked at him, slight panic rushing in upon seeing him. "You good?"

"I think you nearly broke my ribs." Tails croaked out.

"Sorry." He gave him a sheepish smile as he helped him up the floor, giving him quick, side hug, a gentle one this time and ruffling the fur on his head. "You wanna help me get dinner started?"

"Sure," Tails went to stand up, stopping midway and a deep frown suddenly masked his face. "...Sonic?"

Sonic flinched at his sudden change in tone. "Yeah?"

"You didn’t wipe your feet when you came in, didn't you?"

"Oh my gosh-, don't start with that again please." Sonic groaned as Tails began his annoying tangent. "I actually did it this time."

"I can see the tracks of water leading from the grass outside to here! I keep telling you, just wipe your feet at the doormat!"

"I was carrying the groceries in!"

"That's no excuse Sonic! You know how hard it is to mop up these floors!"

Sonic began to back away, holding his hands up. "Well I did, and just for the false accusation you're not getting the dessert I bought tonight."

Tails' eyes widened, his mouth open agape. "What?!? That's not fair!"

"Neither is falsly accusing your brother for a crime he didn’t commit."

"It's not false accusation if the proof is right in front of your dumb-dumb face." Tails deadpanned.

"Annnd, now that's no mint candy of any kind for a week."

"Sonic!"

"Do you want me to make it a full month?" He tried to have his "serious" face on while saying it but the sour look on Tails' face made it rather difficult and cracked up rather quickly. Tails stood there flabbergasted upon seeing him suddenly burst out laughing, a faint blushed warmed up his face once he realized what was going on. Typical Sonic, he should have seen that coming.

"You're the worst, you know that?"

"Love you too bro."

[voiidvagabond]

For the fandom asks - 1, 14, 15? Xx

Woo, hello! I didn't know which list you wanted, so you get a TRIPLE ATTACK! >:3

end of the year asks

1. favorite fic you wrote this year. I'll go by what I've posted, and I did post a lot! I'm so proud of myself :3 One fic I keep going back to and re-reading because it just gives me giddy giggles is "Better Without the Poison" which is a DS9 fics and a little on the darker side hehe.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write. I had no idea that I would get sucked so completely into Dead Boy Detectives and end up with my most popular fic to date, "Like Knives Clattering to the Ground", which is also up there for my favorite fic.

15. something you learned this year. I got well-acquainted with the delicate balance of writing/finishing fics and doing my coursework for uni. I'm not sure why, but this term it was much harder for me to stop writing fic and work on my graded stuff 😅

author asks

1. How long have you been writing fanfic? I have been writing fic since 2016! I've been posting on AO3 since 2017. Almost a decade :D It's been such an amazing time and it has helped fuel my creative endeavors in all modalities and in original works as well.

14. What's the average word count of all of your published fics? I went and did the math with my stats page just now! My average count is 5,737 words. That's a pretty interesting number, because I often think of myself as a longer fic writer. I suppose the number is skewed though, because I have some illustrations that have 0 words.

15. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chapter fics? This is a difficult question. I feel like the answer should be multi-chapter but statistically I think I have more one-shots? I feel like I prefer one- or two-shots but sometimes I have trouble keeping my ideas short and I end up with longer fics than I intend. It really depends on the story, though. I bend to the whims of the story and format accordingly.

more fic writer asks

1. the last sentence you wrote. A sketchbook, three different models of comms, a loose diamond credit card, a tangle of multicolored wires, and a wide black box fell out.

14. where do you get your inspiration? The world! It's a cheesy answer, but it is the truth! Often I get inspired by moments in a respective fandom's canon but I do a lot of AU work and divergence so much of that will come from experience or some random strike of "Oh! That's what I want to say!" I'm fascinated by what characters will do if I put them in situations that they've never been in, be it physically, emotionally, or mentally. So if I'm reading something or I see something in life that clicks, it goes in the ideas bin. I also enjoy exploring disabilities, disorders, and variations on the human condition. Much of my recent work has included some facet of that which ties into my love for research. I also have a myriad of playlists for different fandoms/pairings/AUs that I can set to play if I need a jumpstart.

15. favorite weather for writing. Ideally, I love an overcast or rainy day because it's a perfect excuse to sit inside and write. I also love a day that's far too cold to be outside in but has that crisp, bright sunlight. I sit next to a window and get the slightly warmer sunlight on me while I type away! But let's be real, any weather is my favorite weather for writing if the inspiration is there!

ask me stuff!

[vikkirosko]

Can I request Prismo, Scarab, Fiona and reader who is the warden of Citadel Prison?

Character: Treats everything lightly, regardless of the severity of the situation. In battle, she is full of sarcasm, ridiculing opponents, not taking many of them seriously because of the huge difference in strength. You have never had much sympathy for your work, but you use your power: your ruthlessness towards enemies and the destruction you cause are caused by your wastefulness and the unbridled nature of your strength in battle - all justified by your divinity. You are also calm and cool-headed in stressful situations, for example, when fighting with enemies of equal strength. Sometimes you seem overly distracted, for example, chasing fleeing criminals, you put too much energy into a strike that destroys an entire city.But with all this, you have a weakness for children :>

I would like to add that in the past you were an auditor god, and the scarab was sent to you for an internship so that he could take your position, and you were appointed to the post of head of the Citadel. For a thousand years, you did your job flawlessly, but one day, when you had a lunch break, the Lich destroyed the prison and freed all the criminals, and when you returned, it was already over. Then you were put on trial, but they gave you a chance so that you could fix everything.

Here is a drawing of the reader's appearance and I apologize for the huge number of words😅

Thanks ♡

Platonic headcanons The warden of the prison

🐰 Fionna Campbell x fem!Reader 🗡

Having found herself in an unfamiliar world so different from her native one, Fionna did not expect that she would be chased. Scarab wasn't going to leave her alone, but even he didn't know that he wasn't the only one chasing her. This was your chance to make things right. When you were the head of the Citadel, you didn't really like your job, but you did it flawlessly, until recently. You only went to your lunch for a couple of minutes, and when you returned everything was destroyed, the criminals escaped, and the court was waiting for you. But now you had a chance to fix it

You followed the tracks until you got to a strange world where there was no magic. That's where you found Scarab. Only by that time your order had changed. Your bosses wanted you to calm him down, because Scarab lost his temper, after that you could be free. While you were teasing him, saying that you would destroy this world much faster, Fionna was looking at you with wide eyes. You were huge. You had wings instead of arms, and your legs were like a bird's. You were taller than some of the buildings and clearly didn't notice her standing next to you until Fionna also got into a fight with Scarab

When it was over, you wondered what kind of world it was. You've never heard of such a place before. And that's when you finally saw Fionna, who asked you not to destroy anything. Perhaps if it had been someone else, you would have done exactly the opposite out of some harmfulness. But she seemed like just a child to you, even though she was very capable. Compared to you, who were over a thousand years old, she was, she really was a child to you. You just didn't want to see her upset

You no longer had to stay in one place and keep an eye on criminals. You were free, and you decided to use that freedom by staying in the world where Fionna lived. She promised to tell you about the world where she lived and even introduce you to her friends, and you decided for yourself that you would look after her and her world. Considering your previous job, your current idea would be comparable to a simple vacation. You intended to have a proper rest for the first time in a thousand years, and Fionna had the role to keep you company for part of that time

🥒 Prismo x fem!Reader 🖥

You and Prismo knew each other even before you became the head of the Citadel. You used to spend a lot of time together. He was someone you could call your friend and your words would be sincere. But when you got a job, you saw a lot less of each other. Prismo missed you, but he understood that you couldn't leave your post, because otherwise anything could happen

He learned from his friends about what happened to the Citadel and that you were awaiting trial. Prismo found it hard to believe that you could really let the criminals escape so easily. He knew you for a long time and knew that despite the fact that you didn't take a lot of things seriously, you did your job flawlessly for a thousand years. Prismo hoped that you would be okay

He learned about what happened to you directly from you. You followed Scarab, intending to find him on the orders of your bosses. What Scarab did to your friend angered you and you promised Prismo that you would try to free him. You understood that in order to save him, you had to stop Scarab, and you hoped that you could do it as soon as possible

When Prisma was free, he hoped to meet you soon, and you really came. You were free and all charges against you were dropped, so you could afford to make up for the time you didn't see each other

🪲 Scarab x fem!Reader 🗡

Scarab thought highly of you. Once upon a time he was your protégé and since then he has had only a good opinion of you. At least until he found out that the Citadel had been destroyed, the criminals had escaped and you were awaiting trial. He doubted that this would have happened if you had done your job the way you used to, so his opinion of you worsened. He was too busy to figure out what really happened, but he understood that few people could defeat you to free the prisoners

When he sought to destroy a world that should not have existed, he did not know that you were following him. Your bosses decided to give you a chance to correct your mistake and you couldn't miss this chance

Scarab did not expect to see you, but even more he did not expect that you came to calm him down on the orders of the bosses. Scarab was very angry, but you didn't care about it. You deliberately provoked him without even taking your battle seriously. Scarab was too wrapped up in his emotions to notice that you were stronger than him

After the defeat, Scarab was punished for his act. He came under the supervision of Prisma and you. You no longer had your old job, but a new one appeared, which consisted of looking after a single ward. Now you've had a lot of time to put your former protege on the right track

[fireflysparks]

So, I haven't been around a lot. I recently had to have a tooth removed, which was extra medical stress on top of my other health stress on top of my normal anxiety. 🙃 The procedure went quite well and was only mildly traumatizing, all things considered. But I am still healing, and eating has been even less fun than usual.

Meanwhile, I've been going through my Sims 2 CC again. I never entirely finished my past cleanse of it. 😅 And in time, my "testing" folder became completely unmanageable, so that when I did have some major crashing a week or so ago, I had to take out that whole folder to make it stop.

Another major (but very pleasant) distraction has been playing Palia. I absolutely love the world and the characters. And now that I found myself in a great little community of other players, I am playing even more often. It's a very nice escape from reality. Which I really need right now. And I think (I hope) I've made at least one really good friend from the experience that will last longer than the life of the game. However long that may be.

All this to say, I've been busy with things other than playing and posting Sims. I'm still playing my game a bit, and I still intend to finish posting my backlog of (mostly Pleasantview) photos. But I am taking a bit of a break right now. 🙂

Hope you are all doing well! 💕

[wesavegotham]

Suprised by how much I liked the first issue of Batman and Robin (2023) considering how I could never warm up to Robin (2021) by the same writer.

The art is gorgeous, I just wish Damian would look more like Damian and less like Tim. Plus the fight scenes can get a bit confusing, I wasn't always sure where the characters were in relation to each other or what they were doing and had to look at the panels longer than probably intended.

After a short fight sequence to kick off the story we spent about half the issue on Damian moving back in with Bruce and them trying to figure out how they want to life together, with Bruce seemingly longing for a bit more normalcy after all the chaos they went through, but being unsure how to reach Damian like Alfred did, and Damian being fully focused on the mission (cutting his talk with Bruce short to get enough sleep for crimefighting, getting up on time to make breakfast, not wanting to go to high school to have more time for the mission etc.) and not overly enthusiastic that his father wants him to have the teenage years he himself didn't get to have.

I think spending so much time on this was the right decision after they barely got to talk in private in Shadow War and not at all in Batman vs Robin.

Damian also gets to talk a lot more in general than he did in Robin #1 and I feel Williamson really held himself back with Shush's introduction, making sure we focus on the titular characters first instead of some new characters.

I also liked that we got an entire issue of Damian being competent this time. I expect Damian to run into bigger challenges and problems in the following issues so it's nice to see him get a few wins first. In fact it felt like Williamson let Damian shine more than Bruce in this issue, showing that just because he's back as Batman's Robin he hasn't suddenly lost all his skills to elevate Batman's role in the book.

Actually I was a bit suprised to see just how chill Bruce was this issue. He praised Damian for his work in the field, let Damian cut their conversation short, let Damian teach him how to make tea and allowed Damian to drive them to the crime scene in Damian's own car instead of the batmobil.

I understand that Bruce is low on allies in Gotham right now and that he's probably just happy to have his son back with him and is thus probably willing to put up with a lot for the moment if it means Damian won't run away again, but...isn't Bruce completely losing his mind in Gotham War right now? This issue even makes several references to Gotham War, Damian talks about how Selina still has control over the henchmen in Gotham, but that there is other crime not under her control that needs to be stopped. So why does Bruce act so relaxed and happy in this?😅

And how did he regrow his hand?

Anyway, aside from my questions about how this fits together with Bruce's solo books I enjoyed this issue, I hope it continues to be fun.

[mistresscitrusslice]

I'm so sorry for asking but since I know you've got a thousand asks on this before but - There's still interest in your "Our glorious Evolution" fic, are new chapters coming? I've thinking about it ever since I finished it, it's so intriguing

Oh! I promise you that the Caitvi chapter wasn’t intended to be the last; far from it. It’s just going to be a larger gap between c5 and c6 because I had large amounts of c5 written at the time that I posted c4 and selfishly wanted to capitalize on the surge of fandom activity by posting c5 sooner despite not having anything of c6 ready.

The plan going forward is to follow every step of Jayce’s augmentation process and any interference that may occur, interspersed by the occasional Caitvi outsider POV (probably every five chapters). After the end of the long fic, I want to add some oneshots of Jayvik’s domestic life taking place post-evolution because I don’t think I will ever be able to leave this AU behind. I have these stupid comedic ideas that make no sense for the tone of OGE but I want to write them anyway, so into the oneshots they go!

I want to explore ideas like starting the commune since a lot of Zaunites are gonna understandably not want them in the Lanes and other neighborhoods so they’ll end up starting their own. It would involve Viktor warming up to the cult he’s accidentally started and I haven’t really thought farther than that yet 😅 I also have an idea for a oneshot centuries down the line since they no longer die of old age. Have they grown complacent like Heimerdinger or have their mortal origins kept them fighting for the betterment of humanity? Mostly, I want to write sitcom style comedy. If it doesn’t already get written into the main story, that’s probably where the Caitvi wedding will go, too.

Sorry, I went on a tangent, but it can’t hurt to get some of these ideas out there so I’ll have to hold myself to delivering those promises.

Anyway, I’m currently working extra scraps from c4 into c6, retroactively adding a whole paragraph of c4 that I totally forgot to put in, and desperately trying to make leg amputation sexy for either c6 or c7. OGE is still chugging, and strongly. I’m just also making Christmas presents, so writing is slower.

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Hey everybody!! Here’s a drawing I did for the wonderful @bogglle, as part of an art trade! I wasn’t sure when I’d get the time to draw it, since I’ve been so busy lately, but I had all of Sunday free, so I just decided to crank this out, finishing after about seven-eight straight (or not straight 😉) hours of drawing. I did some touch ups yesterday, and while I’m still not fully happy with it, I think it’s as good as it’s gonna get, ha.

My description of my process ended up much longer than intended (what else is new??) so I’ll put it in a Read More to prevent it from clogging up dashboards. :-)

The prompt I was given was that either Mondo or Taka was supposed to be learning an instrument of my choice. I immediately decided that I wanted one of them teaching the instrument to the other, and of course I decided to go with guitar for it, since it’s one of the best to force two people close together, the instructor’s arm wrapped around the learner to try and “help them understand the chords better.” 😉😉😉

Ha. But yeah, that was my thought process. I also like the idea of Mondo knowing how to play guitar, Daiya helping him learn to try and control his anger issues or something. It’s just a cute head canon to me that I’ve now officially adopted into my head canon repertoire.

Also, I hadn’t originally set out to make it a semi-realistic drawing; I just wanted to experiment with having less lines, wanting lines in some areas but not others. But the more I went along, the more detail I added, and the more lines I removed. Until suddenly my whole drawing was line less except the face, and I was like “… well, why not just make it a completely line-less, semi-realistic drawing now??” So… I did, ha. I still have the original drawing with Taka and Mondo’s cartoony faces on the realistic bodies and it’s, uh… very uncanny valley 😅😅😅 Maybe if people ask nicely I’ll release the forbidden art.

Anyway, I hope y’all like it! Maybe I’ll do more drawings in this style, since I honestly kinda like it. The faces gave me so much trouble, since they were a game time change that I wasn’t really prepared for. And while I love realistic art, I usually need a reference to make it look super realistic, and I didn’t have one here. I just winged it, which might be clear, ha.

Oh! And since I’m terrible with perspective, if it’s not clear they’re supposed to be sitting on Mondo’s bed!! I didn’t want to spend ages on the background, so it was a real quick and easy draw, but my perspective drawing skills suck (my brain does not compute perspective when I’m drawing, no matter how hard I try, unfortunately) so it turned out a bit questionable.

Finally, I may write something based on the same prompt, since that was part of the trade Bogglle and I have, but I have no idea when I’ll be able to do it. I’m currently writing a long fic for another fandom, and it’s taking up a lot of my time. I have this week off of work and internship since my dad has COVID and he’s my ride to and from both, and I have next week off thanks to Spring Break, but still. This fic is turning into a beast (literally, since it’s a Beauty and the Beast AU fic) so it may take me a while to finish it. So… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great day!

[artist-issues]

Hi! I have a question for you as I know how immersed you are in Disney lore and themes (just like me hehe): Which fairytales or myths do you think would be really fit for a Disney adaptation/retelling? This is if Disney wasn't in the state it is right now, creatively and thematically speaking, of course. I don't know if I'm the only one who has thought about this, but I've been curious about how they'd do an adaptation of The Little Prince, though, that isn't strictly a fairytale, but it's still fantasy and adventure and the protagonist is a prince, so there's that, or even an actual adaption of Romeo and Juliet, which is yet another story that isn't a fairytale, but I still think there's some interesting elements they could make content of and the story is widely renowed for the passionate romance between two young people, which is an area Disney has had plenty of experience for decades now, although I don't know how they'd handle the tragic ending given how Disney has always modified tragic and/or horrifying stories to seem more wholesome and happier, and because it's an extremely well-known story, perhaps more than most of the ones they've adapted, I don't know how people would take it if Disney were to modify the ending to suit their style. This went on longer than I intended it to, but yeah, I'm curious to read your take on this topic.

I love this question!

I’d genuinely love to see Renaissance Disney do a fairy tale like Brother & Sister (the Brothers’ Grimm version or the Andrew Lang version) or, still, Jack & the Beanstalk.

I think Brother & Sister has all the seeds of a great Disney story.

Sibling relationship instead of a solely romantic focus ✔️

But there still is some romance ✔️

‘Evil witch stepmother ✔️

Humans enchanted into animals ✔️

Some never-before-done elements that they could play with, like the Sister/Mother character getting turned into a ghost and haunting the family until her curse can be broken, that sort of stuff. ✔️

I’d also love to see an adaptation of The Princess & the Goblin, but even in their heyday, I don’t know if Disney could’ve handled that one with care. 😅 It had layers of themes and an ending that would only make sense if you took those themes seriously, and since they didn’t exactly take Lewis Carol’s themes seriously in an effort to simplify, maybe they would’ve had the same problem trying to adapt Princess and the Goblin.

But! I think something like Brother & Sister (or Hansel and Gretel, I’m not picky!) or the Jack stories would’ve been really cool.

[eldritchships]

34 with Shockwave? 👀

34. Washing each other's body

Word count: 1876

This took much longer than intended, both because the prompt made me blush and I accidentally went way over my intended word count 😅 (Oh also, in case anyone's worried, nothing overly spicy happens)

Cold air whipped around the Nemesis's landing deck, meeting the pleasant warmth of the sun, and stopping what would otherwise be a hot day from being too overwhelming.

Flatline pulled Shockwave further out of the shade of the landing decks' runway interior. An equally blinding smile spread across his faceplates, watching small clouds of dust fall from the both of them with every step they took.

"Rubble doesn't suit you, my love." Flatline chuckled. Shockwave slipped his digits from Flatline's, slowing to a stop. Flatline lowered an oversized container to the floor by his pedes; it was filled with water and suds, and a clean rag hung on its brim. Shockwave's optic flickered, glancing towards Flatline.

"Or you." He paused, assessing himself. "My mechanical systems remain functional, the exterior uncleanliness is only a minor inconvenience." Flatline took the rag from the container.

"A good clean improves both internal systems and personal morale." He echoed Shockwave's matter-of-factual tone with a tilt of his helm, wiping at Shockwave's forearm. Shockwave shifted his arm to present it at a better angle.

"A logical response." He replied. Flatline smiled. He worked his way up Shockwave's forearm, washing away the thick red dirt until Shockwave's paint showed through clearly again, restored to its usual dark purple. Shockwave held his arm loosely, allowing Flatline to gently rotate it one way or another as needed.

The mission they had been sent on together had gone awry, particularly due to Autobot interference. They had managed to retreat, but not without navigating their way out of a collapsing cave system first. Fortunately, Flatline had checked the both of them over once they'd gotten back to the ship, and given the all-clear apart from some surface level wounds.

"You missed a spot." Shockwave's helm moved, directed to the spot he was indicating.

"Well stop moving your digits around." Flatline laughed, optics still down and focused on the servo he was holding and finishing up on. Shockwave's digits twitched, but he held them still. Flatline pulled back, and dropped the rag onto the edge of the container. He used his grip on Shockwave's wrist to pull it close enough to press a kiss to the Shockwave’’s knuckle-joints. Shockwave pushed his servo in a little further, brushing the back of his curled digits against Flatline's cheek. The singular optic was gazing into Flatline again, maybe analysing the dirt still covering his metal, or maybe just watching the glimmer in Flatline's optics.

Shockwave used his thumb to clean a smear from Flatline's faceplate before removing his servo. Flatline patted Shockwave's arm before looking the larger bot over. He tilted his helm back, lips pressed in a contemplative hum.

"You might have to help me." Flatline told him, gesturing downwards. Shockwave looked down at Flatline, the height difference all the more evident between them. He took a step back, and slowly lowered down, cautious of his own weight as he got down on his knees.

"Is this low enough for you?" Shockwave asked. He leaned forward, helm closer to Flatline's faceplate. Flatline smiled and took Shockwave’s helm in his servos. He was still maybe a head shorter, but at least he had easy access to Shockwave's helm now.

"Perfect." Flatline replied. He began picking chunks of rock from Shockwave's neck cabling, tossing them aside. Shockwave's optic flickered again, becoming darker, almost as if he were shutting it as Flatline gently raked through his outer circuitry. The metal beneath their pedes tinned with a dozen falling stones, a tiny symphony that tittered out with the final pebbles. Shockwave's helm was becoming hot underneath the sun when Flatline tilted it up again. Shockwave brightened his optic and twisted to retrieve the rag from the container, his cannon rising to be a stabilising support on Flatline's leg. A single clean, surgical swipe removed the dirt from Flatline's chest screen, the slightly elevated pulse displaying clearly. Shockwave showed the same treatment to Flatline's shoulders, his arms, light dabs that neither took too long nor hurried. Flatline's shoulders hiked but he otherwise stayed still, the helicopter blades on his back twitching underneath Shockwave's attention.

"You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Shockwave noted. Flatline's smile was perpetually etched into his lips, trying not to wiggle as Shockwave got a rather difficult stain out of the seams between his stomach panels.

"How could I not? It's a gorgeous day, and we're out here spraying each other with water. I almost feel newly-forged.”

Shockwave hummed thoughtfully, the sound barely a grumble in his vocaliser. He examined the area he had been cleaning, making sure it was satisfactory. Once accepted, he handed the rag into Flatline’s open servo. Flatline crouched to dunk it into the sudsy water, feeling the wind chill against the cleaned parts of his body. He stood up, raising the rag to Shockwave’s chest plate. He took a step forward, and then faltered. His gaze flicked quickly to Shockwave’s chest, his face, and back again. Flatline pulled his arms back and released another chuckle, this one more uncertain, as warmth flooded his faceplate. The charm of the moment was still there, but he seemed to have realised the close proximity of what they were doing, and was getting flustered because of it. Shockwave's helm fins dipped, fixing his round optic on the other bot. He was quiet for a moment, watching Flatline's movements, the shift in his weight.

"Are you embarrassed, Doctor?" He questioned. Flatline's smile strengthened despite himself.

"Of you? Never." He shuffled an inch closer, and gave Shockwave a sideways glance. "Um. May I?" Shockwave nodded, and Flatline moved forward, getting close enough to continue scrubbing away dust and clumps of mud from Shockwave's body. The windows were brought to a gleam, Flatline's empty servo pressing to the side of Shockwave's chest while the other lovingly attended to the opposite side. Flatline's chest-screen picked up, fans whirring to try and dispel the heat in his systems, despite the grin creeping across his features as he wiped Shockwave clean. Shockwave's servo rested on Flatline's waist, purposeless but steady. Flatline's optics affixed on the spot he was working on, dragging down the curve of Shockwave's midsection. Putting a bit more pressure on the rag, he flicked out clumps of clay that had gotten caught. His servos slowed and lingered there, the tips of his digits following the seams between the metal plating, trailing down their expanse.

"Flatline..." Shockwave said; His servo squeezed Flatline’s waist to bring back the smaller bot’s attention, a warning rising in his tone. Flatline startled and quickly pulled his servos away.

"Right." He said quietly, the word apologetic but light.

Shockwave watched Flatline move on to other parts, and his hold relaxed again. More of his colour was beginning to show, greys and purple all but polished to a shine under Flatline’s eager attention. The two bots passed the rag back and forth between them, taking turns to wipe each other down. Flatline pretended to swoon when Shockwave took his servos in his own to scrub down Flatline’s arms, only to insist upon cleaning Shockwave’s cannon when the larger bot attempted to do it himself.

Flatline stepped closer, his pedes almost brushing Shockwave’s kneecaps. His brow was furrowed, taking care as he manoeuvred around the delicate (and potentially lethal) barrel of the cannon, propping it against his own stomach for support. The unconventional shape posed a challenge, but he was able to clear the dust away. Eventually, Flatline’s movements slowed, and he raised his gaze to Shockwave. He stared silently, causing Shockwave to pull his helm back a degree. Flatline gently lowered the cannon, and he reached up, taking Shockwave’s helm back into his servos. He felt Shockwave tense in anticipation, trying to discern his intention, but Flatline’s expression softened, all at once overwhelming the jovial atmosphere.

"My darling.” Flatline’s thumb brushed the purple metal underneath it, his optics meeting Shockwave’s single one and keeping it. “You are the most beautiful creature in this or any other solar system."

Shockwave paused, merely watching Flatline for a long moment.

"Illogical. Aesthetic beauty is entirely subjective." He finally replied. Flatline sighed a smile.

"I know it in my spark." Flatline tilted Shockwave's helm up to press a kiss underneath where his chin would be. He planted another, and another, each one less tender but pressing more firmly with enthusiasm than the one before. Shockwave’s newly-cleaned cannon rested against Flatline’s calf, a light pressure that disturbed the last spots of mud there as he tried to limit the assault on his helm. Flatline pulled back enough to look at Shockwave again. Flatline beamed, the sunlight bouncing off of the blue crest that framed his optics. Shockwave’s helm tilted to the side, and he shifted, his one servo moving up and up. Flatline tilted his chin up, expecting to give another kiss. Shockwave leant forward…

Cold water doused Flatline like a flash flood. He stumbled back, sputtering and spitting water out of his intake.

"Hey!" He accused, staring at Shockwave. He still had the now wrung-out cloth in his servo.

"You hadn't finished your own form yet." Shockwave replied. Flatline's optics narrowed; with Shockwave's monotone, it was hard to tell whether he was being genuine or making an excuse.

Flatline swiped the cloth from Shockwave, dunked it in the container, and thoroughly soaked it in water. He splashed Shockwave with it. Shockwave jerked back, rising to his pedes as he wiped bubbles from his optic. He flicked them at Flatline, who hopped back with an outcry.

“You spend stellar-cycles handling dangerous chemicals, but cannot tolerate a little water?” Shockwave questioned. Flatline laughed, amused and outraged, and hurried forward to the still half-full container. Shockwave slid back a step, then another, as Flatline lifted the container. With a heave, Flatline threw the remaining water all over Shockwave. He moved back a little with the wet slap of a large amount of water hitting his plating. Flatline laughed again, this time much more cheerful as he watched Shockwave shake off. The floor around them had become a slurry of water and dirt, the ratio too one-sided to become mud, but enough to cause a slipping hazard.

“That was a frivolous amount of waste.” Shockwave remarked, rolling suds out of his cannon. Flatline placed a servo on his hip.

“You’re clean now, aren’t you?” He retorted. Shockwave looked himself over, and Flatline could see him thinking it over through the twitches in his helm fins. Before he could respond, Flatline dropped the container and closed the distance, grabbing Shockwave’s servo. He tugged Shockwave with him towards the edge of the landing deck. “Come on. Let’s dry off.” Shockwave’s helm tilted again, somehow scolding despite the lack of facial features, but unlike normal the silent reprimand didn’t have as much bite behind it. He followed Flatline’s pulling further away from the interior hanger. They both knew they had already been in the sun, enough to adequately dry off. But when Flatline sat down, a bit back from the edge, Shockwave only paused for a minute before sitting down himself. The view was better enjoyed from this angle, with much more visible to their optics. Excess water falling from their plating, Flatline intertwined his digits with Shockwave’s, and settled with them there.

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

The Big Itch Three 19?? Rock & Roll / Garage Rock / Novelty / Rockabilly

Welp, a few of these definitely have not aged well at all—just take a gander at this album's tracklist and you'll be able to figure out one of them immediately 😬—but for the most part, this third installment in the Mr. Manicotti label's Big Itch series of 50s and 60s underground rock oddities and obscurities is pretty great. It's not nearly as strong as the first volume, but it is leaps and bounds better than the second; and it's mainly because, just like the first one, Mr. Manicotti seemed to prioritize music that was well made rather than music whose chief concern was to be funny. Most comedy doesn't have a very long shelf-life as is, so if the music itself isn't very good or isn't itself inherently funny, then the likelihood a comedic tune's gonna succeed past the ephemeral moment it was made for is close to nil. Jokey lyrics may not stand the test of time, but if you sing them in a certain way, or the music you surround them with is captivating enough, you might have something longer lasting on your hands; and we've got a good handful of that on here.

So, favorite track of mine on this album is probably one-off act Mad Mike & The Maniacs' "Quarter to Four," which appears to have originated from the only thing that they ever ended up putting out. Released in 1961, and recorded in a party-like atmosphere, this one had to have been intended as a tongue-in-cheek sequel to Gary U.S. Bonds' own "Quarter to Three," a single that was similarly lively and went to #1 the same year, only soon to be ripped off interpolated by Dion for "Runaround Sue," which also went to #1. Largely instrumental, "Quarter to Four" leads with bawdy, loud, forceful, and totally unrefined rock & roll sax, and I am very much a sucker for that kind of thing in general. There was a lot of fun that was baked into those early and unpredictable days of rock & roll, when it wasn't totally clear if the guitar or sax or maybe even the piano was gonna lead the way as the movement's most important instrument. And it's hard to imagine a history of rock music without the vast amount of contributions that were made to it with the guitar, but it was a possibility at one point, and even in 1961, with rock & roll having been firmly established as a dominant force, this song seems to present a pretty good case for why the sax needn't be cast aside.

Plus, the 60s birthed a whole bunch of dance crazes and fads—the iconic twist, for example, the watusi, the mashed potato, and the monkey, too—but Mr. Manicotti dug up some other more eccentric ones for this album, like Glenn and Christy's "Wombat Twist" and Joe and The Furies' "Weasel," both of which are featured on the 'Dancin' Side' of this record. Not sure what these moves were supposed to look like, but the songs definitely make for some infectious rock & roll fun regardless.

So while Volume 1 of The Big Itch was damn near perfect and Volume 2 felt like a massive misstep, Volume 3 gets us back on the right track with a bunch of tunes that are both wacky and good, rather than tunes that are purely wacky but not necessarily good...as long as you stay away from the selections that are, at the very least, clearly problematic too 😅.

Highlights:

Glenn and Christy - "Wombat Twist" Gary Shelton - "The Trance" The Warlocks - "The Temper Tantrum" Joe and The Furies - "Weasel" Mad Mike & The Maniacs - "Quarter to Four" The Dinks - "Kocka-Mow-Mow"