#thanks for the ask! this was so much fun :D

[triona-tribblescore]

Hii I love your art so much and just wanted to ask what your favourite Huskerdust headcanons are?

Thank you so much!! :D <333

Hmmm, I have a TON but some of my favorites my brain has decided is that

A) when husk gets sick (or hungover) he mellows out a TON and wants to stay as warm and cozy and quiet as possible (in a very stupid old-man kinda way?) and Angel, of course, will make fun of him for it

B) Angel is very very VERY much attracted to husks flaws. No one else understands him

[thewayitalknj]

Since a few of you kindly asked for a Part 2, here you go! Thanks for the love!

Warnings - reader feels a bit insecure for a split second! Word Count - 2.6k

Part 1 | Part 2

You stare at him, cold blooded. So he did figure it out? You shut the door behind you and reach for the silk robe hanging on the back of the door. 

“Aw come on don’t cover up because it’s me-”

“Eddie, what the fuck are you doing here?” 

He makes a silly dance move, trying to be funny but definitely not helping. “What do you mean? I came for a private dance.” 

You finish tying a bow and cross your arms. “How did you know I work here?”

He gets up and walks towards you. He moves your robe off to the side and points to your birthmark. “This. I noticed it while you were dancing.”

You sigh and look back up at him. He stifles a laugh, “Ed, this isn’t funny.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a fucking dancer?”

“Oh yeah, because that’s a great conversation starter-” You notice him looking you up and down. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” 

“Like I’m hot or…some shit.”

“Well, I mean-”

“Look, I get off at midnight. We can go back to my place to chat afterwards if you want. But for now, you can hang in the dressing room. We won’t be back there until we close up anyway.” You open up the door and motion for Eddie to leave.

“...does this mean I don’t get a private dance?” You give him a stern look this time, “yes ma’am.”

As you enter your front door Eddie goes and takes a seat on your couch as you head to your bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. When you take a seat next to him just a few minutes later you explain everything to him.

You have been working at the strip club for over a year now. As much as you loved working at Family Video it just wasn’t paying enough. Bianca was a regular at FV with her family, and you grew a work-type friendship with her. One day she came in by herself and asked if you wanted to come to a charity event they were holding at the club. She immediately made it clear how odd it sounded about having a charity event at a strip club but assured you it was always a hit ; how the money went towards good causes in the city and the toy drives were always overflowing. You wanted to show your support so you went and had a fun time. Bianca introduced you to everyone, from her boss to her coworkers to regulars. It was a strange family-oriented work environment you never imagined. When Pam, the owner and boss, asked if you were interested at all in working for them you turned it down. But when bills started piling up and the holidays were around the corner you thought earning some extra cash would be helpful. So you went back, and was hired right from your interview. 

Pam explained how the club was run by women for women only. Everyone took you through training, first just as a waitress. You learned tips and tricks, and also had to come up with a fake name for security and privacy.

“Wait, so what’s your ‘fake name’?” Eddie asks using quotation marks.

“Lilith.”

“Why Lilith?” 

“It means ‘belonging to the night’. It’s also associated with meanings like ‘demon’ or ‘spirit.’”

“Well that’s badass. How did you come up with that?”

Look down at your lap. “Um, in one of your D&D books. The one you gave me about character building.”

“No shit.”

“Yeah…so anyway. I didn’t even think about dancing but Bianca asked me one day if I wanted to try it, so I did. Everyone thought I did a good job…I was on the next night and it just took off from there.”

“Why haven't you told anyone?”

“Because when Bianca asked me to come to the charity event I didn’t really know what to think about her being a stripper. I didn’t want to judge her, and I didn’t want people or colleagues to judge me. I really enjoy it. I have this new built confidence when I walk through those doors. We all really care for one another and root each other on.”

Eddie shifts himself closer to you. “What do you mean ‘new built confidence’?”

“Let me answer this with a question for you. How do you feel when you’re DM’ing at Hellfire?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, like I’m taking charge. Assertive. I know what I’m doing and I like how I make people feel afterwards.”

You reach and put your hand on his leg. “That’s exactly how I feel when I’m dancing.” You smile, shake your head, laugh to yourself.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just hilarious that we both feel the same way about two completely different scenarios.”

“Hm, true.”

“Can I ask you a question though?”

“Sure, anything.”

“...What did you think…about the dance…on your birthday?” You gulp.

“Psh, don’t you remember the way I was talking about you when I came here the next morning?” You nod. “Everything I said was true. I couldn’t get you out of my head. And then when I figured out it was you I just…had to tell you I knew. Couldn’t live with that secret, it would have driven me nuts.”

“How did you ask for me anyway? You didn’t even know my name.”

“I asked for the devil from the night before. The women who led me to the private room recognized me from when I was called up for the dance.”

You pondered, “Was she dressed in all silver?”

“...yes?”

“That’s Jade. She gave me a bit of a pep-talk, I almost asked her to go out instead of me.” 

Eddie looks at you muddled, “why didn’t you want to dance for me?”

“Because you're Eddie, you’re one of my closest friends and it just felt…I don't know, awkward.”

“Well, if I’m being honest your friend is very beautiful but,” he takes your chin and lines you up with his eyes, “I’m glad it was you.”

You smile, “I’m glad it was me too.” 

You stare at him for a bit, melting into his touch and his eyes ; and when your lips touch just seconds later without even realizing how close you were, you feel like you died and went to heaven. It was when his tongue slipped its way into your mouth that that confidence you talked about earlier started to kick in. You kick yourself up and straddle his lap, bringing your hands to his shoulders to steady yourself but never breaking the kiss. His hands find your hips, rings digging deep into your shirt, bringing them along to the slow steady pace as he starts with his own hips grinding up. You follow his rhythm and hum, starting to feel way too good.

And even though that confidence was built up for a few moments, your insecurities came rushing through. You part and separate yourself too quickly and mumble “no” ; Eddie looks upset as you stand up. “What’s wrong? Did I take it too far, I’m sorry-”

“No no it’s not you it’s just..me. I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

You stutter, tears beginning to paint your cheeks. “It’s just-you never did any of this before. And-now you find out I strip and we’re suddenly making out on my couch. I feel like I’m in some stupid rom com where I took off my glasses and suddenly you see me differently.”

“Hun, I can promise you it’s nothing like that.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude Eddie but I think you should go.”

“But-”

“I just need space, if that makes sense? Can I call you tomorrow or sometime later this week?”

“Yeah of course, whatever you need. I know this is a lot for you.”

“Yeah-yeah it is.” 

He walks over and kisses you on the top of your forehead before leaving. 

“And that’s basically what happened.” You swirl around in an office chair, disappointed in yourself. You were a mess, you spent the whole next morning thinking about Eddie and what happened. Today is even your day off, but you felt like you needed company so you made your way to the club for some hopeful reassurance you weren't taking this too far or overthinking.

“I think it’s sweet he’s giving you space, he understands your concerns and he’s respecting it. You don’t see that a lot nowaday..” Your other co-worker and current security cam watcher Leah has been listening to your rants all day. She just came back from maternity leave but wasn’t ready to dance, so her shifts have been bartending and security watch, mainly the private rooms from the cameras. When you arrived at the club no private dances were happening, so Leah took you to the security room for privacy. “I’m kinda glad you came though, I want to show you something from the night he was here.” She holds up a VHS tape and puts it in the VCR. You watch with bated breath as Eddie shows up on screen.

“What does-”

She puts her hand up, “Just listen.” You watch the footage, as Eddie paces the private room waiting for you to arrive. 

“Hey so, I’ve kind of liked you since high school and…no I can’t start with that.”

>>FF>>

“Finding out about dancing? That is just a perk that will come in the soon to be hopeful relationship…no that doesn’t sound right. Steve is a fucking idiot for coming up with that line.” 

>>FF>>

“So…wanna go out on a date? Bowling, dinner? …What am I, 14?”

>>FF>>

“Alright Munson, you got this. Just tell her you figured it out and that this doesn’t change how you feel.” Then he plops down on the couch and lays back just as you found him.

Leah stops the tape and looks back to you.

“He…likes me?”

“Guess he does. So much for your negative thoughts huh?”

“I can’t believe this. He’s never shown any signs of…anything.”

“Pft, guys are weird. It took my husband years to ask me out on a first date but I waited! Here we are three years later with a new house and baby. It was all worth the wait, and I’m sure this will be for you too.”

“But how can I make this right? I feel like I screwed it all bigtime.”

“Why don’t you invite him to our charity event in a few weeks? It’s how your story started. Maybe it’ll be a new chapter for him too. Show him instead of talking to him to make things right.”

You smile wide, “...Has anyone told you you’re a genius?”

“And I thought Mom-Brain was getting to me already. But I’ll take the compliment.” You give Leah a hug and head out to make a very important phone call.

Eddie (of course) agreed to attend the charity event, and even offered to pay full price instead of the family and friends discount. You went in a few hours earlier to help set everything up while Eddie arrived when the event began. You introduced him to your co-workers ; some already knew about what happened but for your sake played it off like they knew nothing, which you greatly appreciated. Eddie took a seat at the bar, wishing you luck for your performance later which he was secretly looking forward to. Just before heading to the dressing room you stop by the DJ booth.

“Hey Cassie, here’s my tape for my dance. It’s Track 8, and I go on at 11.”

“Got it. Thanks love!” She looks at the cassette and ponders to herself, “huh, who’s Corroded Coffin?”

Your turn couldn’t come soon enough. Eddie was only two drinks in, constantly looking at the clock waiting for 11 to strike.

“You okay babe?” Leah, (or in tonight's case since she’s working, Carmella), comes over to check on him.

“Huh-yeah. Thanks.”

“Of course, she’ll be on in a few. Excited to watch her?”

“Ohyeah-yeah,totally.Can’t wait.” He takes a large sip of his drink.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“Can I be real with you for a second?”

“I’m a bartender, I’m here to lend an ear to your problems.” Leah leans in, “talk to me.”

“I’ve liked her forever, I’m just stupid and have never asked her out properly. And I don’t want her to think I’m asking her out now because of all this,” he motions his arms around the room.

“Well maybe she won’t think that.”

“But she does, I know she does. And I just feel like a fucking idiot.”

“Eddie, I can assure you by the end of the night you’re not going to feel that way.”

“How do you-” Just then the lights dim ; Eddie looks at the clock ; 11:00. 

Cassie takes the microphone and introduces you, “and now ladies and gentlemen one of our veteran and favorite dancers, Lilith!”

You take the stage ; back turned towards the crowd, grabbing onto the pole ; a beautiful black outfit snug to your body ; and your music hits the stereos, a loud guitar solo opening the song. 

Eddie thought his eyes were going to fall out of his sockets, immediately recognizing the solo as his own. ; And when you turned your head to face the crowd making eye contact with Eddie and giving him a wink, he knew he was done for.

He watched you in awe, he couldn’t believe someone in a strip club was dancing to his song. But in this case it wasn’t just anyone, it was you. Someone he’s known almost his whole life, someone he’s been trying to ask out for way too long but had doubts because of his own stupidity. When your performance was over he whistled from his seat and immediately turned to Leah, “are any of the private rooms taken?”

When you exited the stage and headed back to the dressing room you were met with cheers and hugs. Everyone loved your dance and gave you your praises. 

After a few moments of celebrating and thank yous, Leah came in, a smirk across her face ; more or less as a ‘I told you so’ look. “Room #2. Go, now” The girls all gave a collective “ohhhhhhhhh”, as you rolled your eyes and left.

Eddie is standing in the middle of the room this time. You shut the door and lean up against it. You're the first to speak up ; “So,” you start to walk closer, “what did you think?”

“Don’t come any closer.” 

You stop, baffled at his words. “Why?”

“Because if you come any closer I’m going to lay you on this couch and do unthinkable things to you.”

You blush, hard. “You sure you wanna do that with a security camera in the corner?”

He looks up at the camera and waves, “free entertainment, no?”

You chuckle, such a typical Eddie answer.

“Well-”

“If you wanna know what I thought, I’m seriously never gonna get you out of my head now. How the hell am I going to ever perform that song without thinking straight?”

You look down shyly, rocking on your heels. 

“And as much as I would love to give your friends some content, I do want to do this whole thing right.” He brings himself to stand right in front of you, “let me take you on a date, a proper one. Pick you up, dinner-”

“Maybe…bowling?” He brings his head to the side, giving you a bewildered look.

“I mean, if you want too-”

“I’m joking, but dinner would be great.”

“Cool-cool. Can I pick you up tomorrow at 6?”

“Sounds like a date.” You stand more on your heels, placing a small kiss to his cheek and leaving him alone in the room.

Quick Notes - Didn't expect this to get as much love as it did so thank you again! Reblogs are appreciated! :) also yes I have an idea for a Part 3 but we'll see!

[butchdiaz]

tagged by @iinryer to do a 2024 fic roundup but i'm adding my videos in too because. uh. its fun to look back! and i want to!

MARCH

american teenager (36s)

my first ever commission! for my best friend bia! to this day i hear do what you want (do more!) everytime i listen to this song.

APRIL

arms (1:02)

this was for seti. and it hurt.

good luck babe! (1:11)

literally never felt euphoria the same since the week of bi buck when i made this. changed the timeline. (although i was so euphoric and excited to post that i cropped in a rush and left a little white line in one of the shots and it pisses me off massively to this day. yes im a virgo thanks for asking)

to open up my arms and give it all to you (2.5k)

my little buck coming out to chris fic with hints of buddie <3 bi buck got me writing again after months of literal Nothing. god bless

one of your girls (3:09)

kirby's vision went OFF. so proud of this one like. its gotta be one of my favs and i feel like it became a bit of a butchdiaz classic which makes me so happy :D

MAY

kill her freak out (1:33)

this video is my little baby. ohhh samia. ouaagh eddie.

scared of my guitar (2:23)

shoutout to the way the dialogue syncs up in this one. rly satisfying to me hehehe. honestly didn't think i'd like this one as much as i do but she hits hard

promise (1:15)

love when people commission me to edit songs im already currently obsessing over yay!!!!!

JUNE

happy to be here (2:16)

julien baker. eddie diaz. aka abby had a mental breakdown making this one.

closed hands, full of friends (45s)

this was my first time editing a song i had Never heard beforehand! 3 cheers for finding new music!!

JULY

l'amour de ma vie (3:26)

ok not to toot my own horn but. this one is good. i feel like i really told a story u know. and about now is when i started to play around with fun/more intricate text ooh ooooh

a burning hill (1:01)

this prompt was designed in a lab to kill me specifically. i wanted to do the whole song originally but i like. could not go on.

my ego dies at the end (2:49)

i reallyyyy like this one. long edits my beloved! i love to build to something. i rewatch this one often tbh. jensen mcrae is everythinggg

AUGUST

north star (2:16)

again, had never heard this song b4 i got this prompt and it got me obsessed with this searows album. this edit makes me feel all soft. rly loved incorporating fleabag into it bc like. fleabag for life. shoutout summerofbuddie for the inspo

feels like (58s)

this song has been on my buddie playlist(s) forever so i was So excited to get this prompt. it was so fun to make something. not depressing and just like. fluffy. fun fact i hand drew all the hearts for this in ps and they were such a pain to work with but i really love how it turned out cause i'd never done anything like that before :')

pink balloon (2:29)

finally made a proper buck amv. after so many eddie ones it was actually nice to switch it up. felt re-inspired! also always so inspired by samia ugh. i am an eddiegirl literally to my bones tho so this was both v hard and v fun to make.

SEPTEMBER

"i want a divorce" / "it was a date" (2:19)

the buckshannon parallels ouuugughhh. this was one of those ones that haunted me so persistently i literally was forced to make it. saw hanna's post and then blacked out and i was posting this.

had a feeling i could be someone (3k)

+

leave tonight or live and die this way (1.1k)

dyke buddie!!!!!!!! these fics are sooooo near and dear to my heart. i love to make everyone wlw! i love to project my butchness onto my fav characters! wrote these so fast (for me) like writing has Never flown out of me like that. i was possessed by the spirit of lesbianism. and. GOD. the response to these fics also makes me want to cry daily. the beautiful art that was created?????? for me and my little fic?????????? i actually can't believe it i love you guys so much. lesbians forever and ever and ever.

did it to myself (1:11)

another one of my favs. i think it slaps so hard tbh. i tried a lot of new stuff and it was so FUN. orla's music is so much fun to edit to i need to do another one of her songs asap.

afraid of heights (2:46)

boygenius wrote this for my friend buck buckley. got entirely consumed by this one. thank u han for being my buckafraidofheights warrior for life <3

headlock (2:23)

i love buck but i remember coming back to making an eddie amv and breathing a sigh of relief. i just Get him. its so easy. this one's underrated i think oop it kinda slaps

OCTOBER

savior complex (3:16)

this one was a rly good challenge and idek why. super happy with how it turned out though i like watching it back

NOVEMBER

funeral bell (2:54)

the buck thesis statement. to me. and such a crazy unique process. loved working w kaitlin on this one and sending her 10 million drafts (she rly got a behind the scenes tour yall and it was not pretty). this was an absolute BEAST to make despite it not even being that complicated. i think i just cared so much about making it perfect for my dear friend who trusted me with her visions and inspiration and that made it all the more special!

you get your dreams for free (14.8k)

drunk cuddling!!!!!!!! my longest fic i've posted to date and i fully thought i was never gonna finish it. i abandoned this last YEAR but im SO glad i came back to it and most of the reason for that is because of the absolutely lovely responses to my earlier fics this year <3 literally hilarious to me that i originally wanted to post this on halloween 2023. abby. abby no.

surrender my heart! (1:30)

post-confessions euphoria + a carly rae jepsen prompt? i was literally in heaven. SURRENDER UR HEART EDDIEEEEEEEEE

DECEMBER

every place leads back to your place (2.1k)

music inspires me soooo much (looks up at this post. no way right.) so i absolutely loved writing based off a song! and a chappell song nonetheless!! so fun to twist a breakup song around to fit Them. i particularly love the kiss in this one <3

oldie's station (3:17)

phew we're almost there! this one is recent but lowkey it feels like another classic to me already. i really really like it. making it felt like cooking a three course meal and watching it kinda feels like eating one :D (thank god) (i spent so many hours in that kitchen)

letter to god (1974) (2:27)

+

letter to god (1983) (1:52)

putting these together bc they are sister songs and sister videos. first time in my life i've worked on two videos at once. it was fun because they kind of grew together and influenced each other very directly. not fun because i ran out of space and my laptop crashed. several times. these felt rly indulgent and raw. kind of shocking to me how perfect both songs feel for both of them. had a lot of fun messing with the voice/video filters to try and place these in their respective eras bc im obsessed with that aspect of the songs. halsey's artistry is crazy yall if u havent listened to her newest album GO. NOW.

the rush of slumber party kissing (3.2k)

posted this literally yesterday lol. also my first time writing smut. somehow. scary! but i did giggle all the way through writing this tbh. when buddie reveal their true nature as silly teenage girls >>>>>>>>>>

SPECIAL SHOUTOUT

fleabag au wip, who saw the light of day again this year. she could be finished in six months or six more years, but she Will be finished. im determined!

<3

ok if u read all that uh. wow congrats fhdhhdh im gonna get sappy for JUST A SEC now cause uh. im actually blown away by the support and love and appreciation this fandom has shown me this past year. you guys have given me so much confidence in my skills as both an editor and a writer and you also quite literally helped me pay my rent. by making videos about gay firefighters. its actually kind of mind blowing to me how lucky i am and i never want to take that for granted <3

to anyone who has commissioned me, or sent me a prompt, or left a comment on a fic, or a tag on a video, or sent me a kind ask, or subscribed to me, or followed me, or reblogged anything of mine this year: thank you.

im so grateful for this little community and all the friends and connections i have made through our collective insanity over a procedural drama on abc (neé fox). yall rock so hard.

<3

tagging @userbuddie @chronicowboy @confessionseddie @try-set-me-on-fire @userautumn @lovelettered @exhuastedpigeon @sibylsleaves @saryasy @team-118 @lemmeaskthedevil @eddiebabygirldiaz if u wanna do any sort of yearly roundup!

[random-gamer1942]

With the year coming to an end, I wanted to make this little post to thank you all for the amazing times. 2024 has gone by faster than any other year, and for good reason. Particularly, because of an interesting combination of you doing more repetative tasks as you age, and each new year taking up a comparatively smaller portion of your life as you age. Psychologically speaking, this-

WAIT FUCK I GOT DISTRACTED OKAY BACK TO THE POST

This year. Yes. It was special. No, but actually. I met so many of you guys in this year alone, and cannot fathom the facts that I might meet this many more people in the coming years. Thank you all for all the art you've made, the stories you written, the blorbos you've created. Thank you all for the picrew and uquiz chains, for the mass reblogs, for the tag games. Thank you all for getting me into new fandoms - from webcomics to shows. Thank you all for interacting with my posts, and for making my own art and writiny feel like they're worth it. Thank you all for being my mutuals. Thank you all for being my friends

And then, to a handful of particular individuals:

@thatoneluckybee

I still remember the terrible puns I made that one day that caused us to meet eachother, lol. And the butterfly effect that caused. Shite. If you hadn't reblogged that post, I probably wouldn't have met about 90% of my current mutuals, and that's not an exaggeration. Thank you for being the 2nd mutual I ever had, for introducing me to sbg, nevermore, and homesick, and for turning me into a mass reblogger lol. No but honestly, I truly am thankful I know you. Here's to another year of me randomly bombarding your asks when reading webcomics or when thinking of theories! (I've started Marionetta btw, be afraid >:D)

@blue-eyed-moon-child

You're genuinly one of the coolest and most interesting people I've ever met, and in only a handful of months have become perhaps the 2nd closest person to me. I've always enjoyed talking to people older than me, since they're actually able to hold conversations on serious/interesting topics, and you especially are someone I feel I'm able to discuss nearly anything with. Thank you for listening to me ramble all those time. Thank you for helping me when I've felt down. Merci d'être ma sœur. Here's to another year of sibling hijinks, highs and lows, and a LOT more rambling :>

And last but not least, @afrogwhocantdraw and @primalmagic

It's a lot more recent, but being part of the benlor trio has genuinly been so much fun. I remember when I originally met frog when I was making some fanart, and how through sheer constantly interacting with Isa's (PHENOMENAL) fics we got her to become friends with us too. We are the 3 musketeers of the sbg community, and none browse the benlor tag without finding our names. To another year of fanart & fanfic. To the benlor trio. To benlor!

Yes I repurposed that drawing shhhhhh

And with all that, to the new year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

@thatoneluckybee @aceiscoool @moonbiine @quintessential-candles @haruu-luv

@kirexa @missrayofsunshine @onlyinitforthefandoms @indianatumbleweedjones @a-being-of-chaossss

@nina-the-ninth @sl33pdepr1ved @niredsw @simply-a-moth @fish-nailed-to-a-cross

@thurio-edau @sprinklina @lee1504 @whatsuplin @piigeonss

@blue-eyed-moon-child @afrogwhocantdraw @azulas-1-fan @primalmagic @ohquail

@floydetheflowerdragon @fly-in-amber @cherie-soup @artcher-artwork @junebug99

@corvid-collective70 @karmaajr @ldeedub @comatosequestionmark

[lady-merian]

!!!

—The description of the coffee house as a cup of coffee is so vivid and lovely. And the sound… I could just see and hear it!

—I like the impression I get of Alain from such descriptions as “quick as a child playing musical chairs” and “flashed a boyish grin at the professor,” and granted there are going to be earlier descriptions of him that the reader has since this isn’t the first scene between him and Noemie, but for the first I’m reading of him (more or less) this affects how I see him as a generally fun-loving individual with more than a touch of boyish charm—and no small degree of expectation for that charm to smooth his path forward… at least to a degree.

—he’s generous too, as it didn’t seem to cross his mind that Noemie would have to ask who the other cup of coffee is for. Also her guarded excitement was a lot of fun to read! I now want to give her all the good things!

The Blue One leaned forward seriously, mirroring her crossed arms. “I should jolly well hope you didn’t and no, it isn’t the same thing at all. I apologize, Mademoiselle Eve, but like the serpent, I am about to corrupt you.” 

—BEST description of someone introducing someone else to coffee. May not be accurate to everyone’s experience, (my own first taste of black coffee was not too favorable but I was corrupted first with heavily sweetened and creamed drinks. ;-) ) but it just shows how much he enjoys it and that’s what matters in the dialogue. She has the best rejoinder to it though X-D

Love the transition from the burning hot coffee to Noemie working it back around to his name. And the fact that he’s up front about this not being his real name but preferring not go by Lucifer. X-D

“Mm! Ah, now that’s the advantage of taking a lady to coffee. They bring these automatically,” he said with his mouth full like a schoolboy. Which she supposed he might be, still. He dressed like a prentice, but he didn’t talk like one, and the fancy classes usually kept their sons in school longer.

—I like the deductive reasoning as much as the humor here! She’s quick, not likely to be easily fooled. My guess would be that she’s on to something here.

—this might come out weird but I couldn’t think of another way to put it: if this were a Lady and the Tramp kind of thing (sans anything romantic between them) he’d be Lady and she’d be Tramp. He’s in over his head with something here and her street smarts are going to be helpful to him aren’t they? *eyes them curiously*

—and with the hot chocolate he’s really going to corrupt her. ;-)

Alain banged the table with his hand, reached into the pouch at his belt, and spilled a handful of singing silver over the table. “My good man, do your worst. Kill us with sugar. We’ll bless your name as we lie dying.”

—*cackles* I already loved him, this just took that way over the top.

I had such fun reading this, thank you for sharing it!

"The Ungentleman"

Here's a little excerpt from my old wip, The Brilliant Hour. In this scene, young Noemie has had the strangest day of her life after doing a good turn for a stranger. A stranger who seems to have a ridiculous amount of money on him - just the thing she desperately needs to pay off her father's debt before tomorrow's deadline. She's determined to get that money out of him. This determination has so far involved giving him an alibi by pretending he is her juggling partner, going down a chimney in his shirt so she won't spoil her own festival clothes, and getting caught up in a not-technically-breaking-and-entering situation. They've had enough narrow escapes that he is desperate to just sit down and drink some coffee, and steers them in the direction of one of the best places this end of the city: The Ungentleman.

Illustration drawn for me by Laura Hollingsworth, @drawingsworth, 2020

---

The interior of The Ungentleman was rather like a cup of coffee itself. The plaster walls were stained with a deep brown wash, and the roundabout tiled floor was cut from the same warm stone as the city ramparts. The tenor of the room felt just like coffee too – warm and cozy, if a bit too full and sloshing over the edges, perhaps a little bitter with students and amateur politicians clattering the tables with their fists and the rafters with their voices. Noemie surveyed the crowd glumly. She doubted there was a free seat in the place.

But the Blue One was already halfway across the room, swiveling his way between chairs to a table for two near the kitchen door, still wet with rings from someone else’s order. A pudgy man in a professorial gown reached the table at the same moment. He dropped a stack of books on the table territorially. But quick as a child playing musical chairs, the Blue One spun the nearer seat round and leapt into it. He flashed a boyish grin at the professor, who harrumphed, swept the books back into his arm, and departed to search for another place.

Noemie waded to the opposite chair. “Trying to cure my claustrophobia, are you? This place - oof!” 

The kitchen door had nearly slammed her in the shoulder. She veered wildly, then yelped again when she accidentally tilted the chair onto two legs.

The roll-sleeved landlord (was it still a landlord in a coffee house?) hastily apologized and wiped up their spot with a rag. “Sorry, sorry,” he muttered. “Place always fills up during the Night Market week. Folks don’t usually sit at this table.”

The Blue One snapped his fingers airily. “Coffee for two, please.”

“On the double, sir. Oy, Myrtille! Can you go any slower?” He bustled back into the kitchen.

Noemie widened her eyes. “Really?”

The Blue One cocked his head in confusion. “Really? What really?”

“Are you having two cups of coffee?” She hoped not, but it seemed politer to ask.

His eyes danced, and he bullied a laugh into becoming a cough. “You take me for a peculiar chap, don’t you?”

“Hm, I wonder why?”

“Granted. No, of course not. The second cup’s for you. You’re my guest.” Something seemed to strike him. “Have you never tasted coffee?”

Noemie tried not to sound as eager as she felt. “I once drank the cold bottom of a cup somebody had left. Someone else told me later that it’s not the same. I didn’t like it much.”

The Blue One leaned forward seriously, mirroring her crossed arms. “I should jolly well hope you didn’t and no, it isn’t the same thing at all. I apologize, Mademoiselle Eve, but like the serpent, I am about to corrupt you.”

She smiled. “Is that what you’re going to call me? Should I call you Lucifer, then?”

He grinned, and then grimaced, rubbing his split lip. “Well, I should think I look the very devil right now, so you wouldn’t be far wrong. But come on. After what happened back there, we’d best get onto proper names.”

“It’s Noemie Gardeine.”

“Enchanted.”

“And what about you?”

Just then the landlord returned with a tray. Noemie’s eyes shone, reflected in the ceramic sheen of the tapering coffee pot with a curving spout, and reflected again in the twin tin cups. Alongside the coffee tray he also laid a platter of cakes, pastries, and bonbons. Noemie seized the pot and poured immediately. She sighed and wrapped her fingers round the cup. Then she squeaked as they burned. 

 “Don’t take it like that, little greedy-guts!” the Blue One cried. “It’s metal! Wait a minute or two.”

 Noemie crammed her fingertips in her mouth to suck them. “Maybe you should drink it right away.”

He hesitated,  unsure of the joke. “Come again?”

“Should think a devil would prefer it hot. Now, out with it. You were going to tell me your name.”

“Well, technically I wasn’t. I thought you might have forgotten about that. I’m not going to lie about my name  to you, but I’m also not really able to tell you. But as I don’t fancy going by Lucifer, so I’ll give you something to work with. Hm. Alain? That’s the name I’ve been giving at most places on the road here. Would that suit? Even though you know it’s sham?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about you, Alain, except that you’re rotten at juggling.”

“For all you know I could have had a real knock on the head. I might be the greatest juggler in Morceaux.” Alain popped two bonbons in his mouth, pink and white. He closed his eyes and nearly crumpled  with delight. “Mm! Ah, now that’s the advantage of taking a lady to coffee. They bring these automatically,” he said with his mouth full like a schoolboy. Which she supposed he might be, still. He dressed like a prentice, but he didn’t talk like one, and the fancy classes usually kept their sons in school longer.

“Can you pay for all of these?” Noemie asked, and then, blushing, corrected herself. “I mean, do you want to pay for -”

Alain patted the air dismissively. “Think nothing of it. They’re disgracefully good at counting, these bean grinding publicans. Sharp-eyed too. The law only lets them charge for everything you’ve touched, so mind where you put your fingers. Oh, he’ll try to rack the whole thing up to my account, but I’ll see it out.” He poured a cup one-handed, muttering, “And if you’d had any patience, you’d have let me be a good host and pour for you too.”

“I’m a caravaneer. I know better than to let anybody pour for me.” It came out sharper than she’d intended, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing. 

Noemie took up the cup and tapped its sides. Cooler than before. She stuck her tongue out, catlike, to test the temperature. Manageable. She took an enormous, slow gulp of coffee. She swirled it around in her mouth, from one cheek to the other.

Alain propped his chin on his fist. “Initial impressions? Be careful, I’m armed if you insult it.”

She swallowed. “Actually armed?”

“It’s only a knife. For some reason your authorities have less objection to concealed weapons than they do to a good honest sword belt within city walls. But – coffee. Speak.”

She took another tentative sip. “It’s a little like drinking smoke. Very dark. Very…. soft and hard at the same time. I don’t know if I like the taste, but I like – it.”

He piled three different pastries onto a plate, and shoved it towards her along with the milk and sugar bowl. “Right. Then it’s all downhill from here. We'll probably be slaves in the Circle tomorrow, so why not? Come on. I swear I’ve got the money for it. Stuff as much as you can.”

Not much conversation followed. They gobbled down enough for three meals in one, and touched practically every delicacy on the tray to find the best ones. 

When the wild feast began to slow a little – though it never really stopped so long as they were in the coffee house – a thoughtful look came into Noemie’s eyes. “Did you mean it just now when you said ‘slaves?’”

Alain, who was spreading the cream from one pastry into a sort of filling for a sandwich between two other pastries, looked up.  “I suppose I did, in a sense. Not to glower the situation over.”

“But we’re not running away?”

He shrugged. “What choice have we got? I’ve had two run-ins with the guard today. I’m not going to answer a lot of questions at the city gate to top it off."

 She licked a strawberry dribble from her palm. “We don’t have to leave the city. It’s a big place, Morceaux. We could disappear, easy as pie.” She sipped her sugar-silted coffee (the third one) meditatively. “What exactly did you do, that they want you so badly? You didn’t take a girl to a coffee house and then stab her with your secret knife, did you?”

“Quiet.” Alain glanced about furtively. “Vague language. Let’s not make jokes that would make anyone’s ears perk up. All the same, I wonder that you’re only asking about it now.”

It was Noemie’s turn to shrug. “I never travel on my own. And the only way performers stay safe is keepin clear of each others’ secrets. When you’re only together a few days, you sort of chance it that either of you could’ve murdered someone. You get out of the habit of asking.”

 “I didn’t, er,” he chuckled awkwardly, “murder anyone.” The laugh was a trifle too much. There was something forced at the end of it.

Noemie swallowed. A bubble of silence seemed to spring up around their table, even as the crowd went on clattering round them. Something in the way Alain fidgeted his nails back and forth on the table’s rim unnerved her again. Her apprehensions from the alleyway flooded back. 

He went on smiling weakly. “Ha. Well, that came out all wrong.”

“What, you really did murder someone?” She kept her tone light.

He waved exasperatedly, and his tone was even lighter.. “If I had, would I be likely to drop it on you that way?”

“I don’t know. You might be incompetent.” 

 He pushed his cup aside. “Come on. Here’s my handkerchief. Let’s wrap the rest of the cakes up in it and dump the rest into that sack of yours. If the man asks, we’ve eaten them. We need to talk in earnest, and we can’t here.”

Noemie grinned, but her fingers felt stiff as she tied the food up. “I’m not going someplace with you for you to tell me about how you didn’t precisely murder anyone.”

Alain didn’t seem to hear her. “Fellow!” he called. “How much for the whole thing?”

The landlord’s eyes nearly burst out of his head when he saw the empty platters. “Well, you’ve made the calculation easy, sir. All told, comes to –“

“Wait.” Alain threw up his hand, as though he had just thought of something. “Are you licensed for lemonade?”

The landlord looked the more surprised. “Uh, yes. Fresh squeezed this morning.”

“And…” The hope in Alain’s voice was almost pathetic,  “And… and hot chocolate? I haven’t had hot chocolate in nearly three weeks.”

“Well, we don’t serve it regularly, but I could manage to –”

Alain nodded and interrupted, leaning across the crumbs to Noemie. “Do you mind? I know we can’t go on like this. I’ll tell you anything you like. Answer any question. Come perfectly clean. I’ll even tell you my name. It’s just – first – if we go into the palace tomorrow… Well, I don’t know how they feed the entertainers, and as long as we’ve gone and eaten this much…?” 

Noemie laughed despite herself. He was so very earnest and looked exactly like a little boy begging his mother to let him lick the honey spoon. And she could put off being wary just a bit longer. She raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never had hot chocolate either.”

Alain banged the table with his hand, reached into the pouch at his belt, and spilled a handful of singing silver over the table. “My good man, do your worst. Kill us with sugar. We’ll bless your name as we lie dying.”

The landlord hurried off, thoroughly discomfited.

[regionalpancake]

Character ask game!

For Seven:

What’s the lie your character says most often? What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

For Soji: What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

For Seven:   What’s the lie your character says most often?

Any shade of “I’m ok / I’ll be fine / I don’t need help / I can do it by myself”, which makes sense not only in light of her past in the Collective, but also because of the people on Voyager who model that behaviour for her (cough Janeway cough)

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

Had an amazing chat with @curator-on-ao3 and @procrastinatorproject about this one, and I reckon there must be some pretty dark xB humour. Something about humour making a shared trauma lighter, easier to process or less taboo to openly discuss. I (hopefully) looked at that in my Hugh fic Crow’s Feet :

“Hugh laughed.  // He laughed at the smell of barbecue from a dead man. He laughed at the bed he couldn’t sleep in it. He laughed at himself holding his face together in the shower and the fact that an arm that he didn’t even have anymore still hurt every day. // He laughed at the absurdity of the pain. // At the banality of the suffering. // And the laughing didn’t stop any of it hurting, but it did suddenly hurt less.”

One of the bits of (problematic sci-fi fav) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein that always stuck with me, was when the biologically-human-but-raised-by-aliens character laughs for the first time.

“I’ve found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much … because it’s the only thing that’ll make it stop hurting”

The whole section is here, and feels very 'Seven' to me. Seven and the other xB’s have been through so much, a lot of which would be just unspeakable levels of suffering to the average Federation citizen. Having a community of people to share and process that traumatic history with, to know that you’re not alone, must help. 

Please imagine an post-reclimation xB with a Starfleet doctor in Lower Decks animation style:

Doctor: Have you taken in any of the sights since you arrived? I recommend the Klingon opera - those costumes? I couldn’t tear my eyes away! xBs: Bet I could. Doctor: … Doctor: … Doctor: Well I Think We’re All Done Here For Today

For Soji: What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

Of course there’s the Data-head-tilt™️ but the more interesting and horrifying answer to think about for this one is MADDOX (*muffled screaming*). What it must be like for Soji knowing that her personality was handmade? Did Maddox programme everything or was there algorithms involved that he just sort of tweaked as he went? Poor Soji. I love this narratively, and I loathe that they threw it all out the window in Season 2.

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

I think she might be invited to do a talk with the hope that she’d speak on Synth Experience, or the implications of the lifting of the Synth ban. But really Agnes would be a better candidate for that, and Soji’s only very new to her understanding of Synths anyway. I think instead she’d speak on her specialism/ her research from the Borg Reclamation Project:

“Reclaimed Identity - An Exploration of Emerging Romulan Folkways in the BRP” And I would have a front row seat 🤓😎

✨Send me a Picard character and I'll answer some of these WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS ✨

[somegrumpynerd]

HEY. POINTS FINGER… any thoughts on how everyone reacted when the other joined the team? as in how did killer react when dust came, how did he and dust react when horror came, how did they all react when cross came, etc. i love love LOVE your bad sanses thoughts way too much they make me so happy. if i write hurt you write comfort and it’s awesome. also how do you think they slowly started to get closer? just.. bah give me your thoughts on them!!!! any thoughts!!!!!!!!!

You fool!! You’ve given me a chance to ramble about my special little guys and now this post will stretch on forever!! Mwahahahahah >:3c

No but seriously this is probably gonna be wicked long cause I have 1 million thoughts about these guys joining and meeting each other so uh, readmore for everybody’s safety and sanity

(^ I wrote that in the document before I started typing out my actual thoughts and uh

yeah no kidding, this is like a fucking essay so proceed with caution)

OKAY SO

I’ve said before that Nightmare got Dust for two reasons; one being that Dream had just recently started working with Ink (and soon Blue) so he and Killer were no longer able to gang up on Dream. He wanted somebody else to bulk up their numbers and give Killer a little back up. He also was starting to realise that Killer didn’t handle being alone very well, since this was when he most often got worked up and broke things around the castle (and sometimes tipped over into stage 3). Dust would be a perfect fit since he had the same amount of lvl and fighting experience as Killer, and since they were so close in circumstance they would be practically like brothers right?

The irony that he thought this about a guy he was recruiting to help kill his brother was apparently lost on him.

They absolutely hated each other. Like, it was instant. Killer saw him as a replacement, why would boss go out and get another sans - one with almost the same backstory as me - when I’m right here? Does he think I’m not good enough? Am I disposable and this is the backup for when I die in combat? He didn’t take it well. He took it all out on Dust too, not cooperating in battle, trying to start fights in the castle, etc. He couldn’t outright kill him because Nightmare had given him strict orders not to, but Killer loves a loophole. If he roughed Dust up down to 1hp and something else happened to finish him off, technically he’d followed orders.

Dust just straight up didn’t want to be there. Nightmare just showing up and yoinking him had worked fine with Killer, but Dust had wanted to sit in his empty au and die, he had no intention of joining a team or doing work of any kind - good or bad. The only reason he didn’t just lie down and refuse the entire time was that he had to fight back against Killer, as much as he wanted to die he refused to give this ass the satisfaction or lvl. He didn’t intend to be any help out in the field either, but again, Killer was making sure he got fired at so he had to retaliate to stay alive.

Eventually it got bad enough that Nightmare had to pull Killer aside and demand answers. In the year or so of knowing him Killer had never willfully disobeyed orders before, so Nightmare needed to know what had gotten into him. He dispelled the replacement rumour right away, he still wasn’t quite softened up enough to be sappy about it but he made sure Killer understood what a good worker he was and that Nightmare had no intention of losing him. It didn’t help a lot, they still hated each other for other reasons, but it eased a little.

Killer still had pretty frequent dips into stage 3, except now he would go straight for Dust usually. Nightmare had tried to explain what he’d learned about it to Dust, but he didn’t really believe that it wasn’t just Killer deciding to try and kill him for funsies. He only accepted it after a particular episode where he attacked Nightmare instead, which Dust knew Killer wouldn’t try in his right mind.

After he came back to his senses he sought Dust out. The air around Killer was very different after a stage 3, sort of sombre and almost calm, so Dust let them sit together and Killer apologised for giving him such a hard time. They actually talked for the first time in months while Killer was still calm (or tolerable, as Dust describes it), and it didn’t magically fix everything but, things were a little better. They still fought and argued and bothered each other but it wasn’t as sharp, there was a lack of real murderous intent in it all, and sometimes after an episode they would talk a little bit. It was the best Nightmare was going to get for now, so he took it.

They were still completely incompetent about taking care of themselves though. Neither of them would eat unless prompted and Nightmare didn’t have good enough knowledge of mortals to know when that should be to stop them passing out from hunger on the job. Not to mention the stars were now a full team, and with the way Killer and Dust would sometimes rather target each other on the field he could do with more backup.

Horror was the first of the group to get a choice in joining. Nightmare had taken note of how much Dust didn’t want to be part of things, and while it was in his best interests in the long run given his situation, Horror’s au was still mostly intact - though a little in disrepair. Horror was also the first in the group to have a good (and ongoing) relationship with his brother, so Nightmare knew he couldn’t just pop in and steal him, he had to be a bit more diplomatic with this one and offer a deal.

He gave Horror some time to think on his proposal - he would set up regular deliveries of food to Horror’s au in exchange for him joining their team - and was quite surprised when Horror agreed, with some stipulations. Horror was equally surprised when Nightmare agreed so easily to his terms (that he didn’t want his brother to know what he’d be doing, and that he wouldn’t kill). A little down the line the terms were altered to add that he would also be left to visit his au every week or so.

Horror was not impressed meeting the other two. He didn’t need his power as judge anymore to sense the lvl coming off them both, and given who they were working for he was instantly distrustful of them both (the uh, brother situation did not help). He was also in a place that had an abundance of food for the first time in probably years, so he was doing a lot of going hog wild in the kitchen and then getting very sick as a result.

Dust didn’t particularly feel anything for him. This guy hated him, sure, but it wasn’t forward and slashy like with Killer, it was just quiet loathing which was fine. That’s how Dust felt about himself so, y’know, mood. He did kind of feel sorry for him though, not just because of the whole famine and everything, but also because he was watching this guy eat like his life depended on it and then get sick and undo it day after day. He was the one who suggested Horror getting his food in moderation to Nightmare, which did help but was an absolute ordeal to enforce. Y’know how some people get hangry? Imagine that but you haven’t had a proper meal in years and now these people give you tiny amounts of food and don’t let you eat more for hours. The hunger mood swings were a sight to behold, you would never have guessed in those days that Horror specified not wanting to kill.

When his ability to eat had evened out and he was in better shape, Horror made a point of apologising to Dust for being aggressive with him. Over time he’d kind of softened up on him from his initial impression, since he could see plainly how wracked with guilt Dust was over his situation. It was a little easier to imagine that whatever he’d done was truly out of desperation and not just for fun, as Horror had assumed at first sight. 

They also both retained that classic sans laziness, so it was easy for them to share a space while saying and doing nothing. It made Horror the first person that Dust willingly spent time around in the castle (and vice versa since Horror was still largely suspicious of Nightmare and Killer - the deal seemed too good to be true and the stage 3 episodes didn’t help). As time went on, Horror kind of became Dust’s emotional support skeleton in a way. Dust had become quite averse to touch in his solitude and Horror very slowly brought him back out with casual gentle touches, until not only did he no longer freeze or stiffen at being grabbed but Dust would seek him out to flop next to on the couch. Horror claimed it was just returning the favour for helping with his eating situation, but really it was nice to have something resembling a friend here.

Killer, for his part, was going through This is My Replacement 2: Electric Boogaloo. Not to the same degree as with Dust, since Horror was quite a bit different, but Killer was still wary of this new addition. He didn’t really instigate anything though since, to be honest, Horror had the intimidation factor. He was like a foot taller than both of them, he had a cracked skull and completely different magic and it seemed like every time Killer saw him he was eating bread like a wolf eats a deer. So while he was going through his food moderating, Killer mostly just stayed quiet and kept his distance.

Horror had not softened on him like he had with Dust, since Killer didn’t openly show remorse. He still watched him with distrust, especially after seeing the way he scrapped with Dust for seemingly no reason other than for violence’s sake. Killer was still mostly targeting Dust in his stage 3s, but Horror had to be careful to stay out of his way since he was still working with much lower hp than the other two. What did start to convince him was seeing how similar Killer and Dust were after a stage 3 episode. Once Killer was slightly more composed (ie stopped crying), he became so tired and quiet and blunt about things he normally joked his way around. It was a little startling, but also started to bring Horror around to the idea that Killer might regret his actions too, just buried under several layers of whatever the hell is also wrong with him at any given time.

Killer and Horror only really started interacting after talking about Dust. Killer was asking how he got Dust to like him since he seems to hate everyone and everything else, Horror told him very pointedly it was because he wasn’t trying to kill Dust. Killer admitted he wasn’t trying to kill Dust, at least not anymore, he just wanted to fight for fun. It opened up a better channel of understanding, knowing that Killer did not actually have murderous intent behind his swings (stage 3 notwithstanding). It made it easier for Horror to occasionally get involved in the roughhousing which Killer delighted in, knowing that the other two knew how to hold back enough to keep him from dusting.

Speaking of stage 3, it was around this time that Killer and Dust made a very important deal. After a particularly rough episode with a little too close of a call, Killer showed up in Dust’s room and begged him shakily to make a promise - that if he ever got too out of control during one of his stages, Dust would kill him. He’d been told over and over by Nightmare that it was impossible for Killer to hurt him since he was immortal, but now there were more people around him where that wasn’t the case, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he came out of a stage and found himself alone. Dust promised.

It’s also worth mentioning that, once they were all close enough to be on speaking terms, Horror started bullying the shit out of these two about eating. Now that Horror knew neither of them were going to kill him, he felt safe enough to pick them up by the scruff and set them at the table to say they weren’t leaving until they had at least a snack. He let them pick what they would eat - he wasn’t that cruel about it - but he had to see them eat at least 3 times a day or they would hear about it.

It was by no means perfect or regular, but after about half a year Nightmare finally had henchmen who ate food and worked together (mostly).

Now here’s the problem… I still haven’t really figured out how or why Cross joined the team. Like, obviously there’s some kind of point in the events of underverse where it splits off into an alternate timeline, but I haven’t really figured out where yet so. Leave that one with me just a little longer. Cross joins.

Nightmare really truly didn’t intend to take anyone else in. They were (mostly) getting along, they were pretty well matched to fight the stars, he had no need of more mortals.

…but he was also pretty soft at this point. Every one of them had taken a blow to his I’m immortal I’m an island I don’t get attached to others persona and he’d gotten pretty damn fond of them all. This was why when he felt the sheer weight of loneliness radiating off of Cross, he just couldn’t bring himself to leave him.

So Cross entered the castle. 

He did not particularly intend to stay or make friends, he was trying to get his world back and nothing more. He even revealed a little down the line that he outright refused to kill, and was quite surprised to find that Nightmare was fine with that. At the start he was polite but not friendly with the others and mostly kept to himself.

Dust, as is often the case, did not really have an opinion. Another new guy, this one was self sufficient and didn’t bother him so he had no reason to get involved. He was content to be in the same room as Cross but didn’t start up any conversations.

Horror felt the need to speak to Cross, since Dust would happily stay silent for years and Killer was, well, Killer. Horror was somehow the closest thing to normal they had, so he was the one that made small talk. Mostly asking what Cross would like for meals and encouraging him to pick something he liked when he got the answer of “anything is fine”. As Cross settled in a bit more and actually opened up, they bonded over being the only two to enjoy food. Horror made a point of adding chocolate to the stock they kept in the kitchen and making tacos here and there for Cross.

Horror was also the first Cross kind of warmed to, mostly because he was the one devoid of lvl and Nightmare had mentioned he’d also said he wouldn’t kill. Learning a little about his au’s situation only softened Cross to him more, especially seeing that he still cared a lot for his brother and was trying to protect his home (even if Cross found it unthinkable that he lived away from it). It was through Horror that he also got accustomed to Dust, how being quiet and distant was kind of his default and that he also felt deeply haunted by the loss of his world. They weren’t exactly friends, but it was comfortable enough.

So now boss had taken in another new person, someone who takes orders like a soldier and fights with knives and ruthless precision and aims to be his righthand man, and Killer was ecstatic. By now he’d mostly put his fears of being disposable behind him, Nightmare had gotten a bit less subtle in showing how important they all were to him and Killer felt confident he wouldn’t be replaced. Which was a little bit funny, because the only guy he didn’t feel threatened by was the one who absolutely competed for his spot.

Cross needed to prove he was useful, he had to feel like he earned his keep and that all the training and suffering he’d done was for a reason. When Nightmare sent them on missions, Cross aimed to be the fastest and the most efficient and to report to Nightmare without question. Horror and Dust looking on would have expected Killer to see this 100% as a threat to his position as (self proclaimed) Nightmare’s second in command, and to go for this guy’s throat when nobody else was around.

But Killer was fascinated. Cross was completely different from any of them, bar Nightmare whose au is a whole different kettle of fish, so he had a certain element of unpredictability to him. Horror and Dust were both based on classic sans just like him, so to a certain degree he knew how they would feel about most things and what they might say, the only differences being in what they had experienced through their own timelines. Cross was based on a swap sans and his au had taken wild twists and turns away from usual events, so Killer had to learn everything about him by poking and prodding for answers or observing from a distance, much like back when it was just him and Nightmare. Cross was something new to be studied and Killer loved taking notes.

Cross did not see this as friendly. He was competing with Killer for approval, not realising Killer was playing their contest like a game. When he saw Cross training he would jump in to spar for fun, but Cross saw his rival trying to get a jump on him and take him out of the running. When Killer would hang around and pester Cross in their off time with questions, it didn’t seem like someone taking interest, it seemed like someone being nosy and looking for weaknesses to exploit. When Horror mentioned that Killer was being surprisingly contained and friendly, Cross really thought he was fucking with him.

The first time Cross was willing to even consider this was the case was when his locket came loose on the field and Killer ran back to find it, since one of the notes he’d taken was how the locket wasn’t something Cross would play about (the same as Horror with food). It didn’t make sense for someone who was seriously competing to have him kicked out to just hand his necklace back, no ransoms or attempts to crush it to upset him, just some vague remark about “owing him one” and then right back to Nightmare for orders.

Cross had to give him something of a chance after that, Horror helped a lot by telling him “he doesn’t want to hurt you, he just doesn’t know how to be normal”. It was mostly a playful jab at Killer, but reframing their interactions changed it significantly for Cross. Now they were sparring playfully and having friendly competition on jobs. He wasn’t as put off when Killer went into stage 3 because he knew he could match him in combat and the others were always on hand to help restrain or distract him. Cross also took note of how Killer calmed down a lot for physical touch, not unlike how Dust had warmed up to Horror. It went a long way into not only making him a little less combative for attention every day, but it seemed to put longer stretches between his episodes (which Cross had also started tracking so they wouldn’t be caught out by them as much).

For his part, Killer has disobeyed instructions in the past to benefit Cross, usually ignoring the task to help him if he’s hurt. He’s also given Nightmare nudges towards praising him because he’s noted that that’s what Cross needs in the same way he needs touch (not that Nightmare doesn’t praise them normally, but when Cross is going through it and needs something). He also doesn’t particularly like chocolate but has made a point of not admitting this to Horror so he can give his chocolate to Cross.

(It’s also worth noting that Cross is the only one, besides Nightmare, that has been to Horror’s au. He offered to help out during the food delivery and got to meet Horror’s Papyrus (who he is a little intimidated by but ultimately friendly with, even though it’s a little weird since he’s a good bit different from his own Papyrus). Dust and Killer can’t really visit for a few reasons, mostly because everyone will notice their lvl immediately and know what they’ve done. Dust especially doesn’t know how he would react to having a Papyrus in front of him again and doesn’t want to put Horror's family at risk to find out. Whenever he visits, his Papyrus asks about Cross now and sometimes tries to make tacos for him (key word tries, he’s still a Papyrus after all). He may have joked that seeing Cross sometimes is “like having another brother but younger and less lazy” and when Horror told him this Cross may or may not have cried.)

And that’s where we are now!

They’re a very strange group who’ve been through some inexplicable events and have all changed each other in one way or another. And whether or not it can be admitted, they are a family c:

Now onto how Nightmare was made emotionally open by each of them!! In this essay I will no just kidding could you imagine this is already like 7 pages long

If you got to the end of this post please drink some water and get yourself a snack

[emry-stars-art]

do abram and prince andrew have any new years traditions? 🌟

So at this point I'm half using the royal au to come up with worldbuilding for the world/kingdoms I'm creating as a general setting for various stories lol but I haven't figured out much of it yet so for now. Prince Andrew and Lord Abram are wishing you all a happy new year in our traditional western/etc style :)

(although I'll put some random thoughts below too 👀)

So far all I have is that the new year in this world falls on/is marked by DarkNight (maybe a working title maybe not) which is the night that both the world's moons are new, meaning it's as dark as its ever going to get. Which could be so fun for candle ceremonies, lights, lantern festivals, SO MANY COOL THINGS and I don't know if you know this but. I love space and stars so this is perfect for that too hehe

But ahhhhh a festival of lights and stars. Abram would love to gently torment Andrew with gifts and nice words on the day dedicated not to Palmetto's Prince Andrew but to Abram's star. Unofficially of course but that was never going to stop him 💕

[oneway-closet]

thank you mere for telling me to do this this was fun 😛

how many years have you been in s+d? this is my second year!

what categories are you doing this year and what are the topics (for speech)? i'm currently doing hi (humorous interp) and duo. don't know how to tell you what the topics are without completely telling you the script so i'll just say they're both musicals 😭 my hi is like student rebellions (no it is not les mis) and duo is like......tragedy

if you could pick 1 category to do for nationals, which would it be+why? duo! love it a lot and my coaches are the best and my partner alwaysss puts up with my crap (and i with his) and blocking and singing and everything is just ughh so fun and i love my piece so much

whats a category you haven't done but have always wanted to try+why? i seriously admire poi so much it's so beautiful and ughh i want to try it so bad just like everything about it--the way you put it together, the binder, the transitions are everythingg. oh but also info

can you tell a rank/ballot horror story you had? omg at a tournament in duo we had we got our ballots back from finals (we got 3rd) and the lady who ranked us last (which got us 3rd) said "i love the part where you throw the ashes it almost made me cry!!" which a. if it made you cry why did you rank us last b. we had no ashes in our piece...so ballots got messed up and we were supposed to be ranked higher but it's whatever 😭

what are some speech and debate related fun facts about you?

i can ONLY stomach sad music between rounds. like everyone tells me to put on some hype music to get me ready for the next round but no i'm so stressed all i can listen to is either adrianne lenker or mitski

i still cannot walk in heels. last tournament it was my turn to speak and i stood up and my shoe fell off and the judge asked if i needed a minute

i HATE online tournaments. oh my god never again never again

don't have anyone to tag bc i don't know any other speechies 😭 mutuals if you've secretly been a speechie this entire time please rb i wanna see

speech + debate tag game !

how many years have you been in s+d? this is my fourth year on the team (since I was accepted as a novice as an 8th grader) and also my first year as captain !

what catagories are you doing this year and what are the topics (for speech)? poi: sexualization of girlhood, drama: a mother of a criminal dealing with the guilt of her sons actions and the press blaming her, and then i'm hoping to put up a duo around February or so and I will be competing in impromptu as my third category until then 🤘

if you could pick 1 category to do for nationals, wich would it be+why? POI POI POI 10000% poi. ive done duo at nationals for the past two years and as fun as that was my duo partner is gone now and i gained a SUPER strong passion for poi and i would concider it my main category for sure ❤️

whats a catagory you haven't done but have always wanted to try+why? I've competed in 8 different speech events everything from duet to oratory but ive never fried anything in debate, i think i would be good at congress probably

can you tell a rank/ballot horror story you had?

oh lord. okay in harvard quarterfinals for poi last year 2 of the judges had ranked me as going into semifinals (a 2 and a 3) AND THEN THE OTHER JUDGE GAVE ME A 6. IF SHE HAD GIVEN ME A 5 I WOULD HAVE BROKEN INTO SEMIS. she litterally ranked it opposite of the other judges almost exactly. ....and then i found out that the judge who bombed me got hit by a car a month later LOL

what are some speech and debate related fun facts about you?

i have marshmallows before every round I go into!

my playlist is so embarrassing everything from anime intros to 2020 music to musicals to ICP but i find that embarrassing music gets me locked in

ive only ever had red or pink suits! red, pink, magenta, and then shimmery red :)

tagging @beelikesbirds @thoughts-of-a-silly-goose @chickencentaur @theronanlynchshow @reesemon.@madame-marauder (added more!)

[mertensia]

I saw the warden impulse… so cool

mayhaps eeffo Ethoslab as an eldritch horror?

Thank you for the ask! Eldritch horror is broad enough, so I did two interpretations for this one! Not sure if they exactly fit, but I enjoyed making them :)

First one is analog horror inspired and the second is based on a weeping angel!

[youling-the-ghost]

don’t want to out myself but I’m the editor and caption-writer of all the shorts for the longforms and I love you and it makes me so happy whenever someone makes comments about my editing or captions here (like my recent sadnocchio) :) <3 anyways I hope the sfth tumblr fandom doesn’t feel stalked now haha but I’ve got my eyes on you guys <3

oooo hello anon!! your subtitles are adorable I alway watch the shorts even after watching the longforms just to see those little subtitles, your work is greatly appreciated by the fandom :]

Thank you so much for this!!! It really made my day ^^

[cod-thoughts]

silly ghostprice headcanons?

I HAVE A LIST IN MY NOTES!!! rest is under the cut its uhhh quite long 0_0 i have some silly headcanons for every character i write and for every relationship i write too its my favourite way to find a characters voice!! Thinking about all the things that arent really in character but could be lol. This was a joy thank youuuu

Ghost

Ghost has the craziest sweet tooth ever and any time someone hints at him having a sweet tooth he denies it vehemently.

Animals, particularly cats, seem to gravitate toward Ghost, which he pretends to hate but secretly loves. Soap once caught him petting a stray cat and called him Snow White for a week after.

Despite his stoic demeanour, Ghost is a master of deadpan humour and silent pranks. He once moved Soap’s entire kit three floors down and acted like he had no idea what happened.

Ghost says unintentionally funny things in his dry, deadpan way, and the team is never sure if he’s joking. Soap once laughed so hard he cried, and Ghost just blinked at him.

Ghost has the same pair of boots he’s worn for years, meticulously cleaned and maintained. Once caught Soap trying them on as a joke and nearly disowned him.

Ghost keeps a little potted cactus in his bunk. He named it “Spike” and gets genuinely annoyed if anyone even looks at it funny.

Price

Has an absurd number of backup hats. Once lost his hat during a mission, and Soap joked that Price was more upset about the hat than the firefight.

Price has an incredibly detailed routine for making tea. If anyone interrupts it, he’ll grumble about it for days.

His idea of “relaxing” is reading military strategy books or going fishing alone in the middle of nowhere.

Price has a knack for showing up exactly when he’s needed, even if it’s just to interrupt Soap and Ghost arguing over who gets the last biscuit.

Price once tried to sketch out a mission plan on the fly, and it looked so bad that Soap framed it as “modern art.”

Price always brings back something odd from missions if he can—like a carved wooden owl or a tiny snow globe. His desk looks like a charity shop exploded on it.

Couple Antics

Price's snoring is so loud sometimes that the team jokes it could scare off enemies. Ghost wears earplugs when they’re sharing quarters if its that bad.

Ghost always wears dark, tactical clothing, while Price’s off-duty wardrobe is full of mismatched jumpers and ancient jeans. Ghost pretends to be embarrassed, but secretly loves how comfortable Price looks.

They have a knack for understanding each other without words. It’s mostly handy in the field, but Soap insists it’s creepy how they finish each other’s sentences off-duty.

They play card games during downtime, and it gets competitive fast. Price accuses Ghost of cheating because he always wins, while Ghost just shrugs and says, “You’re predictable, old man.”

Price is a tea purist, but Ghost introduced him to iced coffee, which he secretly loves. Price drinks it when no one’s looking, and Ghost never lets him live it down.

They can’t exercise in the same room without turning it into a competition. Who can do more push-ups, who can run faster—it always ends with them both sore and laughing.

Price insists he never gets lost, but Ghost always calls him out when they’re wandering in circles. Price claims it’s “strategic reconnaissance.”

When they’re on a black op together, they give each other silly code names. Price once called Ghost “Shadow Biscuit,” and Ghost has never forgiven him.

They tried to take a cute couple selfie once, and it ended up with Price’s hat covering half his face and Ghost standing like he was posing for a mugshot. It’s the only picture of them together, and Soap and Gaz both keep it on their phones. (its blackmail but it also makes the sergeants happy to know that their CO's are happy)

Ghost constantly steals Price’s jumpers and shirts because they’re “comfy.” Price complains but secretly likes seeing Ghost walk around the house in his slightly too small clothes, belly peaking out the bottom.

Price loves fishing, but Ghost has zero patience for it. He’ll sit there, dead silent in his mask, but the second he catches something, he starts narrating it like it’s an epic battle with a sea monster. Price is half-amused, half-exasperated. (i really want to write this one it sounds like a really fun one and also Ghost would make a good DM i think :O)

Price always insists on carrying the heavy bags or doing the dangerous tasks, which Ghost finds ridiculous. Ghost once let him carry all the shopping bags just to prove a point, but Price still claimed it was “no trouble.”

[gendervapor14]

doflamingo would be dealt with. that’s what this note said, that letter here, this crumpled report. finally, doflamingo’s last hand was dealt. it must have haunted him, but love prevailed. it was printed on his shirt, inked after signatures, scrawled on his polaroids. now, he was free. law cracked the window, lit up, and coughed up. it was time to put those notes to rest. together.

artwork by @attyattlaw ♥ ~ prompt: smoke

previous prompt can be found here

thanks for hosting this event @corazon-week !

[c-hrona]

Millionsummers + 2 on the Mistletoe prompt sheet?

:3c

[paingoes]

(For the whump asks for Delta...I'm imagining what would happen if Adelais were put in charge of him, while carrying half of the curse. I hope that's okay - if not just let me know and no need to answer!)

Some associate of Paris' from a kingdom called Korsaivar is "babysitting" Delta for a bit while Paris is busy. But trusting Adelais with that is a big mistake. They've been left alone together and he's acting erratic AF. Seems like Delta reminds him of something he's done in the past that he'd rather not think about and now he's having a panic attack. Once he's in control enough to move, he pushes Delta up against the wall by the throat. "Don't you dare tell Paris about - about this 'episode,' okay? Or I'll...I'll tell him you attacked me." He pulls down his collar, revealing a wound. "I'll say this cut is from you. Are you listening to me?"

Ack! Delta is….very nervous and uncomfortable about being left alone with him. He’s nervous being left with anyone he doesn’t know that well, when any stranger is authorized or feels entitled to hurt him. He does his best to be quiet and well behaved and invisible, so he’s naturally pretty shocked by the outburst! Though he can recognize Adelais is having a panic attack, he does not understand what caused it, which is disconcerting.

He’s additionally confused by the sudden violence, though it’s telegraphed enough that he can adequately brace for it. It’s an unnecessary amount of force. He does not fight it, nor is it anything he’s unused to. He’s more scared by anything Adelais might do than he is by the action itself; he doesn’t know this person’s limits yet or how far he will go. Additionally, he’s a bit embarrassed by the scolding.

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

He doesn’t know why he’s apologizing, but he hopes it pacifies him.

No one would believe Delta had inflicted that wound. It’s a ridiculous thing to threaten him with. Still, he recognizes that Adelais is willing to cause trouble for him over this, so he’s not going to push it.

Delta does his best not to even look at Adelais after that. He’s a bit put off by the wound, but this does not translate into pity.

[sysig]

Requestober 2024 Sketches

The playlist is...well, it will be posting very soon! Keep an eye out for your req(s) every Wednesday and/or Friday after the 6th (I think?), pretty sure I got ‘em all >:3c

Doing the full season this time around! The entire mixed bag o’ candy haha

Day 1 had my beautiful boys!! ♥ I’m so happy that Yanderapy took the lead this year ah! It’s too bad I’m so out of practice with them haha, unconfident lines, but the idea was solidly in place from the word go - this was really the only image that came to mind for them, their weird dynamic hehe <3 Made for each other! I am glad their expressions came together so well in the final version, though I didn’t get to show Micchan kneeling! That’s alright tho ♪ Cute enough here hehe

Day 2 got a lot of notes! Kabu’s clothing design is So complex lol, just toss him behind Larry who’s like second nature to draw, suits are so so simple in comparison haha ♪ Still only ended up hiding bits of him! He did end up with his shoe on the outside of Larry’s, boxing him in that little bit <3 And look! His smirk!! As well as the “hiragana” on his sleeves while I was still under the impression that it was text and not Flame Texture lol

And yes, as you can see, I ended up going with the alt doodle, they got more! I was quite tempted by Larry holding Kabu since he’s so tiny lol, but that would’ve required drawing his details! No! Hide him!! The pose is fun and silly and cute tho haha, very plush-coded ♪ And then also a little smech for funsies <3 Just to follow up their staring-at-each-other-in-a-gay-way they ended up with ♥ Rather a fan of Kabu’s hands pulling Larry in :)

Day 3′s was such a pose change!!! Mostly for Edgar, though he’s still kneeling here, inexplicably haha - the angle changed for the final version, and both of their head angles and just, ah, nothing more than a general outline of what I was going for. I’m pleased with both tho! I think the final is much more clear and readable, but there’s always a bit of fun with Edgar looking down/Scriabin looking up haha. I suppose it’s more appropriate than an angel would be looking down on a devil, isn’t it? Haha

Day 4 was another easy one at least, the pose immediately came to mind to show off Nny’s clothes on an even ganglier, thinner frame haha. Like I said, I really tried for more fullbodies this year, so I had to give the tiny version a proper swing on-page! Ran out of room for the larger one, but I really wanted to draw him holding his shoe with his hand haha. You can see the goopmonster on his shirt here too! :D I think his annoyed face is quite cute hehe <3

Day 5 was practically a freebie, and I took absolute full advantage hehehe ♪ If I get the prompt of “soft” of course I’m going to opt for plushies! I’m back in my Webkinz era, and Tala is big big big on Webkinz as well :) And her being a plushie has something of an impact there too lol, but it was really fun to look over all my little guys! I ended up having an extra handful of thoughts about all of them so they’ll be getting their own post(s) :D Good too, since I didn’t talk much about Embroidery’s closet cosplay haha

Day 6 was actually a bit of a question mark for me at first! :0 Not as though I don’t love when Edgar has to clean up Scriabin’s self-inflicted problems haha, I just wasn’t sure what it should be! Making it seasonal helped a bit there - lots of sticker burrs around here when we go walking haha. The bonus ended up being a digital-only, but it was a good motivator to finish these, and then the full poses came to mind - I’m not sure why I was more excited to work on full body poses, but I really was! Maybe the success of meeting my self-imposed challenge haha

I ended up scrapping the alt since it reminded me a little too much of one of the ‘22 reqs - trying to keep things fairly fresh! It was also a little too cartoony haha, where would Edgar suddenly pull such strength from! This doesn’t look like a dream! At least it wouldn’t have been a nightmare of Scriabin being hurt :’) Rescue!

Day 7 was another insta-idea! Really going back and forth on those lol, it sprouted into my head fully formed! This was actually one of a couple I wrote down as I was away from my notebook while brainstorming, so it came back as a mini script; one of more dialogue-heavy ones! Chicken or egg, I wonder, hmm. I always draw Smoker with her sleeves up even though she usually wears them down haha, I dunno. Had a heck of a time with Angie’s hair! I tend to make hair super super fluffy but hers is long and straight and presumably weighs itself down! Doesn’t floof! You’d think having heavy hair myself would incline me towards knowing anything about it but nope lol

Little bouncy concepts haha, and poor Mousey so jealous in the middle, surrounded with them having the most fun!

Day 8 was fairly simple with such a focused ask of them eating Specific Food - can do! Chibis just felt right for such a cute food haha. Would Edgar have a crepe pan, I wonder... I suppose a lot of it comes down to the batter, I haven’t made crepes in such a long time so I wouldn’t know anymore haha

Day 9 featured the slouchy throne! You can see I like the little leggies haha, I did make it a touch more proportional in the final version but who can resist the sillies! Had to draw it and Mettaton separately so I could easily see their silhouettes, I think it all came together in the end fairly well :) Had one heck of a time getting the bottom of his shoes to play nice, but I’m proud of how it turned out!!

Day 10′s, who can resist skelehugs ♥ No I! Not me!! The original had them a lot more upright, I’m glad I went with my note of leaning them back a bit more. Also had Papyrus’ legs on either side of Sans, protective <3 I do like both, but I think they look a bit more reasonably comfortable in the final version, figuring out contact points with one of Papyrus’ legs all the way to one side was too much haha. No boots on the couch! I think they look a bit younger in the final version too, maybe from their eyebrow expressions? Interesting how such small changes can make a big difference ♪

Day 11 was originally going to feature a bunch more Pokemon!! Several of my pink-and-purple faves all gathered around MewTwo <3 Flaafy and Musharna and Sableye my beloved 💜 And of course Whismur!! Can’t but Whismur all the time haha, but in the end I opted to go for the simpler(?) option of just the two ‘mons interacting

Whismur is so spooked by you, even lying down!! Even tho I drew it so I can see it right in front of me, I just can’t imagine MewTwo lying down to investigate haha. More posing changes! Lot of ‘em this year. Pls to quiet, cats have very sensitive hearing, you don’t need to shout

Day 12 started off with probably the Correct Amount of confusion lol, considering even @cutiebetutie​ didn’t expect this to be the matchup lolol, still deeply hilarious to me. But hey, what was I going to do, question a crackship?? Do I look like the kind of person who would say no to exploring some possibilities? Of course I had to give them a scope lol

Haha, “Alt” in quotes as I knew this would actually be the full version, the handholding is cute but where’s the dynamic! There is something there after all! I think so anyway, some tiny tiny sliver that they could start from, and what more foot in the door do you really need? If Nny’s on his charm that drew Devi in, I don’t see why someone a little more airheaded like Jake couldn’t be beguiled haha, if he lasts long enough for that ♪ It’s very tense! I wish him well, I wonder if he could protect himself... Just cut and run, Jake!! Makes for an interesting suspense, that’s for sure haha

Day 13‘s kigurumis!!! Yay!!!! Smol and I successfully wore ours for Halloween this year, we’re them fr fr haha, definitely one of my favourites from this season <3 <3 They’re so cute! Biggest change from here to there is probably where the legs start/end haha, kigurumi have funny little legs hehe. And also Papyrus’ gloves! Sans ended up without any, I can’t resist a hand plate here or there ♪ Also him closing his one good eye to pun about was an accident until it wasn’t haha, just another excuse to do a touch of rereading :3

Day 14‘s turned out so good for how cramped the sketch was!!! Gaster’s hardly there at all! Which is appropriate in its own way haha, filling in the rest of his details was pretty fun tho :) Papyrus looks a lot more desperate in this version which I do like, but him openly enjoying himself is very sweet, who could deny him that <3 Quite pleased with how his arm and hand posing came together in the end as well, fairly minor changes but I think it all flows together much nicer :D

Day 15′s word bubbles turned out way cleaner in the sketch than the final version?? Calls for more practice I suppose; it is asymmetrical, but it does look nice! Maybe needed more colour swatches haha, more and more rows! Edgar’s unimpressed look in the final version is quite good I think but there’s almost a kind of urgency with no eyes behind blank glasses hmm, they both have their merits! I applaud everyone who caught Scriabin holding the bi flag as his swatches! :D Good eye!

Day 16 began The Sleepies lol, I was a bit tired while doodling the first go and it uhm. Well. I mean. You can see lol. S’a bit goofy haha

The alt was much much better! I did end up leaving out the grass which I’m a Little disappointed about - feels too manicured, too sterile in the final version! But I really couldn’t figure a way of adding a bit of visual noise that wouldn’t look flat as well! Minecraft, eh, lol. I am quite pleased with how round Moomin turned out tho :D He looks like a marshmallow in the final version! Yay!

I actually doodled Day 17′s concept before 16 since it came to me so strongly - I do kind of like how much more upright Mob is here, him being as hunched over as he is in the final version adds to the moodiness of the piece I feel. He really is such a good boy! I don’t wish him dark and upsettings!

Day 18‘s didn’t get a paper sketch as I was verrryyyyy tired and had no energy to scan, so skipped the step that would make scanning necessary haha. For all that, I do rather like the digital sketch tho! I think Snufkin’s left leg is a bit better proportioned, and his expression is maybe a bit cheekier? Moomin’s perfect, no notes haha. I also ended up really liking their tail expressions, how Snuf’s is kind of straight and flat while Moomin’s is very roundy hehe <3

I know I said Day 20 doesn’t count but I mean, it’s on the same page! It got the “Day 20″ label! Sketch can go here why not haha. Happy belated Ace Week! I thought it was fun to put a bunch of pink lovehearts around the big central ace heart for me specifically hehe 💜💗

I mentioned in the tags that Day 26‘s original concept was too big to try to do all at once and ahhhh I wish I’d been able to swing it!! I wish I’d been able to do the whole thing!!!! I love scenes like this the most!! Little isometric rooms with little isometric characters all chatting and interacting and being cute and silly and tiny!! I love that! Alas, it had to stay a sketch, but here it is!! Can you recognize everyone here? The main three got the center, but who could the rest be :3c And what of their costumes! Hehe ♪

Still fighting back the sleepies for what ended up being the final version so the dialogue was left much more vague than the caption haha, the aliens don’t even have feet here! I suppose they are meant to be in fish costumes lol, it tracks that only the fully-human Captain’s legs would end there, but definitely not intentionally done so lol. I like ZEX’s expression here so muuuuch ahh I wish I’d been able to capture it a bit better in the digital version! Always something for next time haha

I actually ended up drawing Day 30′s sketch very very last, so this was the last doodle of the season! Me, projecting my tiredness onto the Vargases? Nooo <3 Another one that ended up very very different from the final version, I just needed Something down to paper and out of my head to work with really - I knew even while drawing this that I was going to end up with something very different haha. Sometimes hand just does whatever it wants pft. The dialogue was the star of the show here! And you can see what Scriabin was up to, obscured by the couch haha

Day 31, penultimate sketches for the final day! I really do love Scriabin hiding behind Edgar - wants to be included but not That close, very much with Edgar in the way of anything bad happening to him haha. More pose changes! I like both versions, Todd holding Shmee for comfort or him spilling out of his lap as he focuses all his attention on Joel <3 Both cute in different ways!

Cats are still not one of my strong-suits, but I have been drawing them a bit more recently! Admittedly of the cartoon variety, but even that has had some effect I think! Like their little triangle noses, and the way their ears scoop inwards, and whiskers - little things! I like it! I had fun with these little concept poses, Joel kind of curiously huddling on Edgar’s chest, looking at the world from a safe vantage spot haha. Hold him gently! He deserves it!

All the sketches from this year! I ended up having a lot of fun this season even if it was a little lighter than previous years haha, thank you again to everyone who joined!! ♥