#this is so long sorry if youre on mobile

[ozonecologne]

.

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

Let us pray for [y]our salvation.

and here's two views of the window w/o geki b/c i spent way too long on it lmao:

[fellhellion]

hi for the love of everything hello

[punkflower11]

Choose Your Own Adventure: Miles Morales - Part 5

Prev | Masterlist

————

Okay, time to diffuse this conversation.

"Tell me what? That his own father works for a fascist and oppressive organization intent on undermining a government of the people? Right, screw this. Sorry Miles, but I think I'm done 'ere."

He needed to do something and fast. By now, Miles definitely should have learned not to act upon the first idea that his mind supplies him with but apparently the universe thought that it was too out of character for him, so.

"You know, that's big talk coming from someone who looks like they'd tear apart the government themselves."

He could grab Hobie and kiss him. That... was certainly an idea. An idea that Miles would not be opposed to he thought, looking approvingly at Hobie's lips.

Ah, shit.

It was happening again.

What if he started choking? The absurdity of the notion slaps Miles across the face. Choosing to ignore how the fuck that idea spawned into his brain, Miles quickly decides that it would probably be the less stupid of the two ideas, given the circumstance.

(Not that it was the one that he preferred, of course.)

"Mate, you are literally proving my point by profiling me. That's exactly what officers like you are doing!"

Miles let out a singular, pathetic wheeze. It was the least convincing choking noise he had never heard, and definitely not enough to tear attention away from the conversation. Louder, Morales.

"'Officers like me?' Son, I don't think that I'm the one doing the profiling here-" the cop was cut off by a harsh cough to his left. Several pairs of eyes snapped in Miles direction.

Not that loud!

Seeing as he already had everyone's attention, he figured that may as well commit to the bit and continues hacking.

"Miles?"

"What's wrong with him?" Jeff asks, genuinely confused. Rio looks at him, incredulous.

"We call it 'coughing'," Hobie deadpans. Jefferson glares right back.

"Oh really? I had no idea."

"Hush. I think he might be choking on something." Rio observes. Miles begins another round of intense coughing. That's it, he thinks. Oh no, I'm dying! Be worried, pay attention to me and forget your quarrels!

Miraculously, it seems works as the arguing ceases and everyone grows concerned.

"Baby hold on- Does anyone know CPR?"

"Don't look at me." Jefferson tells her.

"'Punch to the gut 'll prob'ly help up," Hobie suggests.

What.

"What? No! In what way will winding him will help?" Yes, Thank you sane and reasonable person.

"Dunno, innit supposed to 'elp stun 'is diagram or somethin'?"

"What do you mean- that's exactly-"

"How on God's green Earth did you manage to pass Biology? Did you even pass Biology?"

"Guys, really not the time." Miles rasps. The three watched as Miles continues to figuratively cough up his soul, no doubt tainted by weeks of endless deceit.

The thing is that it wasn't even good deception. If Miles wasn't already cursed for lying then bad acting was definitely a runner-up.

"We should punch him." Please don't.

"Try it and see what happens."

"Miles, hold on-"

“You know what, I think I'm actually starting to feel a little better now, so y-” Oh no.

That's when Miles actually begins to choke.

It's kind of hilarious. What moron thinks he can fool his family by pretending to choke, and then in the process actually starts choking? Miles wants to scoff at the comical misfortune, but can't because at the moment is busy coughing up his own lungs.

Miles feels a hand begin rub circles his around back. Tearing his gaze from the table to find the owner of the arm, his eyes find Hobie. At this Miles dies a little on the inside, dumbstruck by Hobie's touch. He tries not to overthink it. Tries.

Fortunately, his coughing begins to tapper off shortly after downing two glasses of water (his own and Hobie's). Never doing that again, he promises himself, clearing his throat.

"You police and all ya shady tactics." Hobie scoffs. 'Wanna help people.' What a load of bull."

Miles was about to pound his boyfriend's head in for cursing but decided to let it slide as his voice was a bit sore.

"I'm shady?" Jefferson reeled, incredulous. "Alright then, I'd like to know what you were doing with Miles all that time he was at your house." Oh shit. They did not prepare for this.

"Well we- uh, ahem. That's nunya effin' business. As if I would sell Miles out to a copper."

"Well as a 'copper' and his father I'm the best person he could trust." Yikes. This was not a road Miles wanted to go down tonight.

"And I’m asking you to for once get your head out of your arse- er, assets, and try see it from his perspective!”

"This is who you’re dating? Really, Miles? This guy.” Jefferson asks Miles. "I’m just gonna say it. I don’t like him."

"Funny, because I don't remember asking you to." Miles replies, irritated. He isn't sure why, but this tips him the wrong way.

"Miles," Rio warns.

"I’m sorry but no, actually. You asked to meet him and here he is. Why do you have to like him? I do, and really, that should be enough. All I've asked you to do is sit at the same table with him for ten minutes and not kill each other, which for some reason is proving to be a difficult task."

Honestly so what if his parents didn’t like everything about Hobie. Did it really matter if they didn’t approve of his clothes, attitude or opinions so long as Miles was cool with it? In the end he was the one dating the teen, not his parents.

“He is an anarchist-”

"He's also my boyfriend, who clearly happens to care about me. Didn't you tell me to watch out for people who have my back? Guess what; Hobie has my back. Even when you can't." He knows it’s cruel, but it doesn’t stop him.

Underneath the table Hobie intertwines his fingers with Miles’ and gives the hold an encouraging squeeze. Miles continues.

"I'm not asking you to love him. I mean, I would appreciate it, but just getting along would more than enough."

Surprisingly, this seems to silence any remaining disputes. Reluctantly, both Hobie and his Dad turn their attention back to the once abandoned meals.

The stillness is stiff and uncomfortable, which Miles knows he’s likely responsible for.

Miles hates how much of this he has to fight tooth and nail for. And how in the end it wasn't going to matter as he and Hobie weren't even seeing each other in the first place.

If a little part of Miles was somewhat hoping that the whole experience could bring two together, it had proved to be a dumb idea. He wasn't exactly sure why he thought it would work, as fake dating was always recipe doomed to fail spectacularly. Which was fair, as deception hadn't done much for him anyways.

Oh well. Guess you can't lie your way into happy parents and a free boyfriend. It was really too bad.

"I know that it's probably impossible for just one cop to change a system. In fact, sometimes I think I might be contributing to it, doing more harm than good." Jefferson eventually says. "But damn if I won't try anyways."

Miles is left stunned. His eyes follow Hobie who seems to be having a similar reaction to the words. What shocks him even more is the admiration he finds twinkling in the teen's eyes.

"I... actually respect that. A lot."

"You're a little odd, but I think I understand where you're coming from. Miles seems to like you, so you must be alright." Rio adds.

"Yeah. Even if you still look like vandalism and bad ideas." the officer chuckles. Hobie grins mischievously.

"Guilty."

"And you're grades are alright?"

"Dad."

"My grades are brilliant." Funny enough, this was actually true.

"I had to ask."

"You really didn't."

"They had better be for all that silver crap you wear." Jefferson then says to Hobie, much to Miles' mortification. Thankfully, Hobie's response to this is to laugh.

"S'what Abe said too."

"He sounds like a smart guy."

"He wishes." Hobie snorts.

"That your brother?"

"Unfortunately."

"I had a brother." the elder takes a sip from his glass.

"I heard. Sorry 'bout that one." Jefferson smiles, bittersweet.

"All good. Just gotta keep pushin' you know?"

"Yeah."

The four continued to converse throughout the evening, managing to steer clear of any more hiccups. Rio and Hobie engage in a light debate over whether Elvis Presley was really an icon or a fraud, and later, Hobie shares his love of 'expressive art' with Miles' parents.

("I even did this piece on the B's bridge last week," Jefferson chokes on his water.

"Wait, that was you?")

Eventually the dishes were scrubbed clean after Rio's insistence that everyone take a fifth serving (Hobie somehow able to eat more meanwhile Miles was on the verge of combustion) when Miles decided to take the opportunity and excuse the two from the table.

"If you don’t mind, Hobie and I are gonna tap out now." He says, arising from the station. Miles looks to the other and smiles tellingly.

"My room?" Hobie chirps a 'sure' and gets up, following Miles down the corridor.

"Remember to leave the door open!" he hears Rio call from behind him.

"Right." He was not doing that.

Sliding down the corridor with help from his socks, Hobie purposefully slams into Miles. The two stumble forward, awkwardly catching each other all whilst failing to stifle their laughter.

"You boys better be behaving yourselves!" A voice sounds from the kitchen.

Miles stills and gives Hobie a pointed look, grabbing the other by his hand. Hobie fastens the grip and doesn't let go. Instead, he pulls Miles in closer and playfully presses a kiss to his forehead.

"For performance points," Bastard. Heart pounding in his ears, Miles half-hardheartedly rolls his eyes before pushing open the door to his bedroom. Hobie wastes no time in collapsing onto Miles' bed as the door swings closed behind them. Draping himself over his desk chair, Miles sighs a breath of relief.

"We actually pulled that off. Huh."

"I can hardly believe it myself."

"I guess fake dating really does work."

"Careful, you don’t want to jinx it." Miles jokes.

He watches Hobie's gaze thoughtfully trail around his room from his posters, to figurines and art supplies. In a way, having Hobie in his room felt like opening him up an intimate part of Miles' life. Encompassed around his own personal space, filled to the brim with personality and expression. The last non-relative person to visit his room had been Gwen, who, at the time Miles had also low key had a thing for-

-and why exactly was he drawing parallels between people he liked visiting his room-

-honestly it was almost like he enjoyed setting himself up for disaster but-

"Did your mom actually play trombone in high school?" Hobie asks suddenly, fishing Miles from out of his spiral.

"Yup. She’s really proud of it."

"I liked her. Concise." Hobie chuckles.

"Well she hasn’t expressly forbid me from seeing you yet so I’d say that’s a good sign." He says, thoughtful.

"And Jefferson?" Miles winces.

"He doesn't hate you. Dislike certainty, but I think he respects you."

"'e’s not too terrible himself." Hobie shrugs.

"Glad you think so." Miles says dryly.

"But we aren't dating," Hobie points out.

So it doesn't matter anyways.

Miles frowns.

"Guess not." Hobie cocks his head to the right.

"You sound bummed."

"I mean, a little." Miles stiffens.

Did he really just say that?

Out loud?

Goddammit Morales.

"Could have been fun." he hastily adds.

"The food was good," Fortunately Hobie doesn't seem to catch on to the slip up.

"Aye. Shame I can’t eat like that every night." Hobie pokes fun.

Well.

Technically,

"You’re always welcome back, you know. I’m sure my mom would be ecstatic to have you." Miles pokes fun.

"As your…?"

"Which ever. Friend. Boyfriend." Hopefully both. "Just show up as yourself, whoever that is."

"Cool. I uh, should probably head out now."

"Right. Want me to show you out?"

"Out your window?" He asks, confused. Right. Because leaving through the front door is apparently a foreign concept.

"Never mind. So, see you in a bit?" Miles watches as Hobie slides open the unlocked window.

"Sure thing babe." Hobie says whilst climbing out of the room.

What if.

The idea grabs and shakes him by the shoulders, but once it pops up it's definitely there.

Technically, nothing was stopping Miles from asking Hobie out right now. Except for the fact that, well, it was crazy.

It wasn't even a question of whether he liked him or not. Frankly, It was so painfully obvious that it was a good thing his parents thought that they were already dating.

Plus, was it really okay to ask the universe for more? Because, really, it had already been a miracle that tonight had turned out okay. The chance that he could monumentally fuck things up between them were so high on the scale that it should have scared him into going back to chasing Gwen.

But they didn't.

Wait, Miles was getting ahead of himself here. Did Hobie even like him back? Even reading into it was difficult. Additionally, Miles knew that Hobie was a flirt. While it was nice to think that the gestures were sweet, in reality they were probably meaningless. Ouch.

Then again, what was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like Miles was expecting him to say yes anyways. At least this way he'll always know that he tried, and that for sure that nothing was ever there.

"Hobie wait," He blurts out before he's finished weighing the pros and cons.

"Yeah?" Hobie waits, one foot out the window. Miles inhales sharply.

Was this it?

Now or never.

massive shout out to my beta beloved @ihrtwillow for helping with me out with that ending. yeesh.

[fully-caulked-wagon]

Posting a few things that I forgot to and had on the backburner. Tried out a couple new pens on ibis x mobile at the beginning of September, so here you go.

[urdreamgirls-dreamgirl]

Hawkins, Indiana

January 1987

Max has been home from rehab for about a week and all she’s really been able to do is amble around her trailer watching movies and listening to music. The second semester of the school year doesn’t start for another week, so she’s got a lot of time on her hands.

Sometimes, when she’s really bored, she’ll make her way, slowly, over to Eddie’s trailer and bother him for an afternoon. Sometimes Wayne is there and awake to bother too and it makes her remember what it felt like to have a family that cared about her. It doesn’t make her bitter, just hopeful, because she thinks now she’s found people that could be that for her.

She’s knocking on the trailer now and she can hear Eddie scrambling for the door on the other side. He swings it open, his guitar in his other hand. “Max!” He exclaims, a bright smile lighting up his entire face when he sees her. “Come in. I was just learning a special song.”

Max makes her way up the steps into the trailer and follows Eddie into the living room. Eddie drops into the sole armchair in the room, leaving Max to the plaid couch. It was old and the fabric was a little scratchy, but it was soft in all the right places. She sits with her back against one of the arms, lifting her legs to stretch in front of her. Her ankles were a bit swollen today because of the weather and they were irritated. She was supposed to keep them elevated when that happened.

“So what’s the song?” She asks. Eddie smiles and starts playing. He’d already played her “Running Up That Hill” in the hospital so many times, she was almost getting sick of it, but this time it’s “Hounds of Love.” Max can’t help but smile as she listens.

When the song is over, Eddie says, “I’m making my way through the entire album.” He doesn’t say ‘just in case’ but Max hears it anyway and something inside her swells as she looks at him. It’s been hard for them all to believe that the Upside Down is gone and Vecna with it.

There’s another knock on the trailer door then and Eddie smiles at her, placing his guitar in her hands before he goes to answer the door. She strums the strings absently as she waits for him to come back.

Eddie is trying to keep his voice soft, maybe so she doesn’t hear, but she hears anyway. “Hey Stevie, Max is here.”

She can’t hear Steve’s response but then Eddie’s stepping back, making space for Steve to come through the door. Then Steve is there, smiling, grocery bags in hand.

“Hey, Max,” Steve calls over to her. “Any dinner plans tonight?"

Max just shakes her head, smiling back.

“Good, because I’m cooking the best pasta you’ll ever taste in your life.” Steve’s grinning now as he pulls off his jacket and starts unpacking his bags, arranging his ingredients on the counter in the kitchen. Max’s eyes dart over to Eddie and she can see the way he’s looking at Steve. It’s the same way that she’s seen Will look at Mike or the way that Lucas looks at her when he thinks she’s not paying attention. Eddie’s looking at Steve like he's hung the moon.

“Oh,” she says, almost involuntarily. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You could never,” Steve says, pulling several pots from a cabinet near the stove. Max doesn’t miss the way he seems to know his way around the trailer. “Right, Munson?”

Eddie seems to shake himself from a daze. “Absolutely, Mayfield. You gotta stay. Steve’s, like, a professional chef. Wayne’ll be here too.” Eddie leaves Steve to start preparing their meal in the tiny kitchen and comes back over. “Wanna learn some chords while we wait?”

Max nods and Eddie starts to show her where she’s supposed to put her fingers, how to strum using his guitar pick. At some point, Wayne emerges from his room down the hall, making his way to the refrigerator and grabbing a beer. He makes conversation with Steve in the kitchen while Max and Eddie keep playing. Before long, Steve’s calling them over to the kitchen table while Wayne arranges the place settings.

Max can’t remember the last time she’s had a dinner like this. Her mom wasn’t really the cooking type anymore and she was at work more often than not these days anyway. Max smiles at the way Wayne and Eddie tease each other, how it’s so clear they love each other. She laughs at Wayne’s stories of the guys at the plant, at the dumb shit they do when they’ve been drinking on the nights they have off. She laughs at the way Eddie makes fun of Steve for being popular and playing basketball and how Steve makes fun of Eddie for being a nerd.

She can’t remember the last time she’s felt like this, like there’s something fuzzy flowing through her veins. She looks around the table at the three men and she can’t help but think that this is what a family is supposed to feel like.

The pasta’s pretty good too.

you can read the full (complete) fic “sorry about the blood in your mouth (i wish it was mine)” on ao3 here

[aristoteliancomplacency]

I am replaying Pokemon Violet and just like… there’s no getting around it: the Team Star plot is just stupid and badly written.

[mackthecheese]

Here’s my human Zooble design!!

[signs-of-the-moon]

Moon High: Chapter 22

The shrill squawking of seagulls in the sky disturbed the slumber of the newly settled Oceanclan. Hazepaw roused from his nest, groggy and a little annoyed by the noise. But when he stretched and felt sand brush the sides of his paws, a bubble of excitement grew in his chest. That's right, we're back on the beach! He remembered and celebrated internally as he sat up to tidy his pelt. Grains of sand met his tongue, salty and earthy all at once. It felt like forever since he had so much sediment in his fur. It was comforting in a way. A sensation Hazepaw never knew he'd miss. But he'd never admit that to anyone. Instead it would remain his private joy as he got up and ready for whatever the day would bring. The sunlight outside the apprentice's den was shaded over by the protection of the Twoleg Settlement Bridge. Only the smallest of sunbeams managed to sneak their way through the cracks of the wooden ceiling. Hazepaw settled into one of those spots for a heartbeat, allowing the warmth to soak on his face and wake him. Once he was sufficiently alert, the fluffy white tom made his way to the fresh-kill pile. A few small fish and rodents lay within it. It was rather pitiful looking, and meant cats would need to go out and hunt soon. For now, Hazepaw chose three mice and carried them to the elder's den. Though he hated dealing with the old fools, he knew he'd have to feed them before taking anything for himself. Dolphintail was the first to be alerted of his presence underneath the old boat, the scent of prey luring her over. Though she didn't seem at all pleased that it was Hazepaw delivering today's breakfast. Still, the eldest of Oceanclan's ranks accepted the food she was offered, and carried it to another part of the den to be consumed. Closeby, Whisperpaw was working on taking ticks off of Chloe. The elders had gathered many during their time in the Forest Patch. Now that they were home, the old cats could be properly cleansed of the nasty little parasites. It seemed Whisperpaw was just finishing up as Hazepaw dropped a mouse at the elderly kittypet's paws.

"You couldn'ta brought a gull instead?" Chloe griped with an indignant tail lash. Hazepaw growled at the old she-cat in frustration, glaring at her sharply. Whisperpaw shook her head, silently begging him not to start a fight. After a heartbeat and a huff, Hazepaw backed away, delivering his last mouse to Oystersplash.

"Thank you," the elder mewed gratefully as he tucked into his meal. Hazepaw dipped his head to the old warrior, pleased to know at least one cat was satisfied. Then he padded back to where Whisperpaw was working. He still needed to speak with her and apologize, like Otterpaw wanted. Now was as good a time as any to make up.

"...I'm surprised you can stand to be in the same den as me right now," he remarked after watching Whisperpaw clean up for a few quiet moments. "You've been so skittish whenever I'm around."

Whisperpaw jolted at the sound of his voice, the fur on her spine standing a little. She continued to tidy up as they carried on a conversation, as if she were trying to distract herself. "Well, I can't avoid you forever..." she responded, her voice as quiet as ever. She glanced over her shoulder then back to a mousebile and tick soiled mossball she'd rolled up. "Besides. Otterpaw told me about the talk you two had."

"She did?" Hazepaw ears perked. Perhaps Otterpaw had done some of the hard part and talked Whisperpaw into hearing him out. "I...don't suppose she told you how sorry I am on my behalf, though, did she?" Hazepaw lifted his chin hopefully. Whisperpaw turned, tilting her head at him, unamused. She knew well what Hazepaw was talking about. But she clearly wanted to hear the words come out of his own muzzle. Hazepaw gave a disgruntled sigh. "Right. Ok. Well listen, Whisperpaw. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. It was uncalled for, and I really didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to help you since you've been struggling with your warrior training. But I see now the way I went about it was harsh. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

For a few heartbeats, Whisperpaw sat silently, expression unreadable. "I've always liked you, Hazepaw," she started, tail-tip wiggling anxiously, "but it scared me that you'd turned your bullying onto me. It hurt worse than the lashes you gave, I think. It's hard to forgive you."

Hazepaw lowered his head, shame and a bit of frustration burning beneath his pelt. "I know. I really didn't mean any harm though, honest. You're my friend. Probably my first ever," he confessed. He glanced between the elders, daring them to chime in. Luckily none of them spoke, instead ignoring the apprentices so they could have their moment in peace. "I just want you to be a great warrior. Especially with the huge pawprints you have to fill." He shifted to face the gray tabby she-cat. Then he lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "You're better than your littermates, and I know you can be a great leader for Oceanclan someday. I thought I could help you get there, by giving you some tough training. But it wasn't my place, and I hurt you. I regret it. I just want my friend back..." All of Hazepaw's words were spoken from the heart. But there was a small seed of gain planted in his speech. Though he did want Whisperpaw back as his friend, he also needed to stay in her good graces. If he upset Whisperpaw too greatly, he'd blow his chance at ever being Oceanclan's deputy. Then all the hard work he was putting in with Sea Breeze would be for nothing.

Whisperpaw twitched her whiskers. "I understand. But it doesn't erase the mistrust I feel for you. However, I don't want to lose your friendship either... I care for you, Hazepaw. But I need some time."

"I get it..." Hazepaw deflated, the hope inside him for reconciliation nearly snuffed out. He sat in silence for a few heartbeats, letting Whisperpaw's words soak in. She still liked him, at least. Not all was lost. Hazepaw would just have to work to prove he meant the words he'd spoken. Determination blazed in his belly, making the fluffy white tom swish his tail. I'll gain her trust back soon enough, Hazepaw thought confidently. He gave Whisperpaw a small smile, receiving a quiet yet apprehensive purr in return from her as she went back to caring for the elders. Not wanting to overstay his welcome, Hazepaw finally excused himself from the boat and emerged into the clearing of camp. Sandybreeze was padding nearby, her head moving in search of something. When her gaze fell upon Hazepaw, she trotted over to him. A heartbeat later, Otterpaw joined them.

"Just the cat I was looking for! You're coming with me to lead a fishing patrol." Fishing patrol? Excitement sprung up inside of Hazepaw at the prospect of fishing for the first time in what felt like forever.

"I'm coming too!" Otterpaw boasted, her joy nearly bursting out of her. Perhaps she was hyped up for the same reason. Or maybe she was looking forward to spending time with her aunt. Whisperpaw suddenly emerged from the elder's den; ears pricked, probably because of the tone in Otterpaw's voice.

"Can I...come too? Luckysong taught me a little about fishing," she mewed, glancing at Hazepaw apprehensively. She looked as though she were giving the request a second thought, regret on her features. Otterpaw brushed her tail along her friend's flank to reassure her.

Sandybreeze gave her whiskers a twitch. "I don't see why not. More paws catch more fish, after all. Come along, you three. Let's meet with the rest of the patrol."

The Oceanclan deputy led them to a pole at the edge of the Twoleg Settlement Bridge, towards the awaiting warriors. Urchinpaw was the first cat Hazepaw spotted. More importantly Troutwhisker, Seaweedfang, and Ripplesnout were there, too. They were the best fishers in Oceanclan. Surely the patrol would be bringing home lots of prey today! Hazepaw smirked with excitement, kneading his paws into the sand beneath them in anticipation.

"Looks like all of 'em," Ripplesnout, noted. Sandybreeze nodded in agreement then flicked her ear, prompting the patrol to head across the beach. A strong breeze ruffled their pelts as they walked, the chill making Hazepaw shiver. Though every day Greenleaf drew closer, Newleaf kept its grip on the world with stone strengthened claws. Hazepaw wished to feel warmth soak his fur at last, in the way cats described the hottest season doing. Then it would make swimming and fishing in the ocean more fun. Though the sand felt nice and hot, with the sun beating down upon the shore. If they'd had a moment, Hazepaw would have rolled around on it to heat him up. He knew once he got in the water the world would feel cold again. Maybe he could do it later, to prepare himself for swimming. For now, though, Hazepaw kept pace with his clanmates, straining his ears to catch the sound of the nearing ocean. As they padded along, Urchinpaw, Otterpaw, and Whisperpaw chatted idly beside him.

"Do you think we'll see any Twolegs while we're out here..?" Whisperpaw wondered, voice quivering a little.

"Doubt it." Urchinpaw shook out his pelt. "It's still too cold for them. Without any fur, the ocean is too much for them to handle in Newleaf."

"But look." Otterpaw gestured to some prints in the sand, leading up to then away from the shoreline. They were close in shape to Twoleg's lower paws. Yet there were none of the creatures in sight. "Appears two were here."

"Well they're long gone now," Minnowjaw assured in with his muzzle in the air. "They musta realized they weren't cut out for the beach beyond the Twoleg Madness season."

"And thank the Moon for that! We don't want those bumbling beasts around when we hunt. They'll scare off all the fish with their splashing," added Troutwhisker. The other cats nodded in agreement, pressing forward on their journey. Hazepaw smelled it before he saw it. The crisp, salty, tangy scent of the ocean was a glorious and unmistakable aroma. It made his mouth water. Energy surged through the fluffy white tom's limbs as he restrained himself from rushing to the seafoam. But Otterpaw beat him to the lunge, bursting away from the patrol to chase the strangely docile waves nearby.

"Race you to the water!" She called over her shoulder to her denmates. A darkness loomed within this part of ocean--something eerie that Hazepaw had never experienced before. In a flash, Sandybreeze rushed after her niece, rounding her to block the way just before Otterpaw managed to touch the water. She ushered the brown she-cat back to the approaching patrol, receiving an earful upon return.

"Are you fish-brained?" Snapped Minnowjaw.

"What made you think you could just run over and dive into the ocean like that? Have you no sense!?" Ripplesnout spat. Otterpaw lowered her ears in shame.

"Pipe down! These 'Paws still have a lot to learn about ocean safety," Sandybreeze growled at the warriors. Then her attention returned to Otterpaw. "From now on, be wary of calm, dark water. And never try to swim in it," she warned her niece more placidly. She didn't seem as angered by Otterpaw's actions as the other warriors.

"But why?" Asked Otterpaw, voice a bit wobbly. Whisperpaw moved to flank her.

"The ocean will pull you in and drown you, if you do. It's because of its jealousy, you see. The ocean is in love with the Moon. But they separated long ago. And so, sometimes the ocean takes out its resentment on us." Hazepaw recalled fables about Silverpelt, sometimes referred to simply as Moon. She was a mother-like figure to cats in most. While in some, she was a stubborn, vain character who only focused on herself. But she was an important figure in the Land's Star's history. Especially for Oceanclan. She was the reason cats existed in the first place.

"But why would it do that?" Urchinpaw lashed his tail with curiosity. "And why do we swim in the ocean if it just wants to kill us?"

"Because the ocean is part of our history. Just as it is part of Silverpelt's. And though it can be a great threat; the ocean is also our greatest ally. Swimming in it builds muscle, making us stronger than the other clans. It also provides us an endless supply of food, so that we never go hungry," Sandybreeze explained. "The ocean loves us as much as the Moon does. It just allows its resentment to cloud its judgment at times. That's why the water is dark, when the ocean aims to suck a cat under."

Hazepaw let out a thoughtful hum. This sounded like something Moonpaw would be interested in. Perhaps he could find out more about the ocean and Moon, so he could have a story to bring back to her? "Why is the ocean jealous of us?" Hazepaw questioned.

Sandybreeze let out a small purr. "Its more jealous of the partnership between the Sun and Moon than us. But because cats are a byproduct of that alliance, the ocean tends to hold resentment towards us as well."

"Can you tell me more? About the ocean and Moon?" Hazepaw's voice was hopeful. Tonight he planned to bring the story back Moonpaw, if he could.

"That's an elder's job. If you want to hear tales of ancient spirits, ask some of them later." Hazepaw was disappointed by Sandybreeze's response. He thought by the way she was explaining things, that she would be more interested in sharing her knowledge of ancient drama. But Sandybreeze was nothing if not a serious cat. Though she believed the stories told to her in youth, she wasn't the sort to waste time discussing useless information. She'd rather teach Hazepaw the truly important lessons of life. And though Hazepaw was grateful for his mentor's teachings, he did wish she could be a little more relaxed on some occasions. Still, there was no use getting his pelt ruffled now, over her not indulging him with some tale of whimsy. The patrol moved on from the shadowy area of the ocean, to a part of the beach where the waves acted more typically. Here the water was bright and blue. If they drew close enough, they may even be able to see to the bottom through the froth.

"You 'Paws go and fish over that way. The three of us will be fishing in the less rocky parts of the shore," Troutwhisker instructed expertly, gesturing with her smokey tail.

"How come we can't go swimming with you?" Hazepaw complained.

"Because you aren't strong enough yet to withstand the waves. You'll practice when Greenleaf comes. For now, work of perfecting your form," Sandybreeze responded, nodding her head to her companions to lead them away. Hazepaw growled, lashing his tail in frustration. He was sure he was strong enough to fish with the warriors! As he moved to follow after them, pain suddenly rippled through his muscles. Hazepaw cursed under his breath. Between cleaning up the temporary camp, the journey back home, and training with Sea Breeze in dreams last night, Hazepaw's body had grown a bit achey and sore. The walk to the beach hadn't helped his muscles much either. If he hadn't been pushing himself so hard, he'd be strong enough now to prove his mentor wrong. Instead, he conceded to his own limits and followed Otterpaw, Whisperpaw, and Urchinpaw over to the rocks. The waves crashed rhythmically against them, spraying the boulders with the momentum. The water was at the perfect level, deep enough to be inviting to fish, but low enough that it would not consume the rocks with each rolling wave. Hazepaw was the first to climb onto one of the slippery stones, beckoning his companions with a swish of his tail. Otterpaw jumped to join Hazepaw on his rock. While Urchinpaw settled on one of his own closeby. Whisperpaw perched on a stone between them. In the ocean surrounding the rocks, little fish swam with the current; weaving in and out of crevices, in-between seaweed and other little plants. They had no idea that they were being hunted. The conditions were perfect for a successful catch. Otterpaw was the first to give it a try, her paw raised and poised for an attack. Hazepaw observed her with delayed breath as the brown molly's lightning fast reflexes led to her successful strike. A pretty silver fish flopped on the stone between them, it's mouth gaped and shut as it tried to take breath from the air. Hazepaw grabbed it by its gills and bit hard, tasting it's delicious juices gush over his tongue. He had to resist the urge to bite down harder, realizing now he hadn't eaten before they went out today. As he sat up with a lick of his lips, the fluffy white tom wished he could take this fish as his own. But on a hunting patrol, warriors were not permitted to eat. So he slid the now deceased creature aside, taking his turn to make a catch. Hazepaw watched the water carefully, narrowing his eyes to focus on the scaly critters below. As another paddled closer to the rock, Hazepaw struck out, hooking the fish and pulling it to the surface. This time Otterpaw made the killing blow, thanking Starclan quietly for the prey before casting a paw out again. The two apprentices took turns like this for a while, successfully snagging quite a few fish between them by the time Hazepaw turned to check on Urchinpaw. The wiry black tom appeared to be struggling. Though his pelt was moist and his fishing paw soggy, not a single fish was set beside him on his rock. His face was twisted in frustration as he glared down at the water, before he once again tried to scoop something. This time he managed to pull up a fish, but he fumbled as the creature flopped for it's life. It managed to flip out of Urchinpaw's paws in the air, hurtling back down to the water. Urchinpaw scrambled to grab it, before it inevitably escaped back into the deep blue depts. With a splash, Hazepaw watched as the fish disappeared beneath the current. Urchinpaw cursed to himself and thrashed his tail, muttering something about giving up already. Whisperpaw giggled at his attempt. Hazepaw and Otterpaw exchanged a look. Then he stood, leaping onto the stone beside Urchinpaw.

"Let me show you how it's done," Hazepaw offered, shaping his paw like a hook with claws extended. He flicked an ear, urging Urchinpaw to copy. Urchinpaw did as instructed, mimicking his friend's moves. "I saw you leaning while you hunted. The fish will get spooked by your shadow if you do that. Even if they just see your fur, it'll startle them," Hazepaw explained.

"I saw you do it, though," Urchinpaw growled.

"That's 'cause fish are too stupid to differentiate objects from their colors. They see white and think clouds. Black, however? Means predator." Urchinpaw let out a chirp of understanding and nodded.

"Kinkfoot taught me darker colored cats have to be more strategic. Instead of striking the closest fish to your rock, you have to judge which fish will swim into your range," Otterpaw chimed in. She motioned for Hazepaw to switch places with her, then jumped to Urchinpaw's side. "Watch me." Otterpaw demonstrated what she had spoken of, stalking a rather large blue-ish colored fish as it swam into her reach. Carefully Otterpaw eyed the creature until she determined it was close enough to scoop. With an expert paw, Otterpaw pulled the fish out of the sea, leaving it beside Urchinpaw to kill. The wiry black tom gladly nipped it, then sat upright to try the technique for himself. It took two more tries before he was successful. But after finally getting a fish of his own, Urchinpaw seemed to find his groove. The four apprentices together managed to catch a sizable pile of ocean prey. Otterpaw had caught the biggest; the blue-ish one from her demonstration. Though Whisperpaw had surprised them all with the bonefish she'd snagged. Their fishing patrol would surely be pleased to see how successful they'd all been. Though their next challenge was figuring out how to carry all their fish to the warriors.

"I saw some Twoleg netting float past not long ago," Urchinpaw mentioned, running off to track it down. Hazepaw, Whisperpaw, and Otterpaw followed.

"Oh sweet," Hazepaw mewed.

"Well done!" Otterpaw commended once the oddly weaved vines had been found. The net was partially washed on the sand, making it easier for them to grab. Hazepaw stepped into the water to untangle the rest from the rocks, dipping his muzzle under the ocean's surface. As he did so, he felt a searing pain on his nose and shot up with a screech. A crab had clamped down on him with it's claw. Otterpaw and Urchinpaw laughed as he struggled for freedom, while Whisperpaw watched on with concern. Though the cackles of the others were infectious enough to have her stifling some giggles of her own. Hazepaw pawed at the brownish-red crustacean, trying to force it to release it's grip. Instead the crab pinched harder. Hazepaw laid down and shook his head, trying to pull it off himself with both paws. As he yanked, a rock fell suddenly on the creature; once, then twice, cracking open it's shell and killing it. Hazepaw looked up. Whisperpaw was holding the rock between her paws, glaring down at the crab to ensure it was dead. Hazepaw sat up.

"Uh, thanks," he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," was all that the gray tabby said in response, turning away to drag the net and crab back to their prey with Urchinpaw. Otterpaw came over to Hazepaw to lick the pain away from his nose. She purred, too, as if trying to soothe him. Heat instantly rose in Hazepaw's pelt from the gesture. It was sweet; almost too sweet for someone like Otterpaw. Moonpaw was more likely to show him such a kindness, especially after they'd spend some time apart. Maybe that was how Otterpaw felt too. Since she hadn't been speaking with Hazepaw for nearly a half moon, perhaps she felt a need to make up for it; by showing she still cared. Or maybe she was making up for the curtness of Whisperpaw. Still, Hazepaw wasn't going to question her actions, even if they did confuse him a little. This is... nice, Hazepaw thought. Then after a few moments he jerked away, too flustered to handle anymore.

"Feel better?" Otterpaw tilted her head. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and Hazepaw thought he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Ye..yeah," he murmured. Then he turned with a rush, motioning for Otterpaw to follow back to the rocks. The warriors were waiting for them upon their return. They were already singing the praises of Whisperpaw as she showed off the crab she'd killed, and the net Urchinpaw found. Sandybreeze approached Hazepaw, commending him on his efforts.

"I can smell which of the fish you caught. You've learned well, it seems," she praised. "And that also goes for you three," she added then whisked her tail. "Though, Urchinpaw, I will have to speak with Silverdrop about giving you another lesson or two." Urchinpaw lowered his head respectfully, grumbling in frustration under his breath. Hazepaw nudged him with a shoulder to warn him to be quiet. Otterpaw moved to touch noses with her aunt then sat beside Whisperpaw who was putting fish into the net.

"We best be heading home, before the sun starts to make the fish rot," Troutwhisker grunted. Seaweedfang nodded in agreement, helping load prey into the net.

On the trek back to camp, Hazepaw reflected on the day. Pride puffed his his chest from a job well done. His stomach growled as he anticipated the tasty meal he'd get to enjoy at home soon. And his mind began to wander to the fun he had with his friends. A longing soon grew in his chest; a familiar feeling he gained only when he missed Moonpaw. Hazepaw wished she could have been there with him, fishing and laughing along with his denmates. Would she have soothed him after the crab attacked him, like Otterpaw had? Or killed the stupid thing, like Whisperpaw? Hazepaw bet today would have been even more enjoyable if he'd gotten to spend it with her. He'd begun to feel this way a lot, whenever he'd spend a couple of days away from her. And now, with the entirety of Oceanclan's territory between them, Hazepaw wished even more that they were in the same clan. It was in that moment he suddenly decided; I need to see Moonpaw again.

[bylertruther]

not to start problems ten minutes after i wake up, but it's okay to need help. it's also okay to need more help than other people. will is strong and capable on his own, yes, but he does canonically say that he will always need mike and he's always welcomed and cherished the way that mike dotes on him, and thanked him for it because he recognizes that it literally has saved his life in so many ways. like... it doesn't make will any lesser or a Bad Stereotype or whatever to need, want, and welcome help from someone else, especially the boy that he loves. it isn't an unfair scenario if this is how mike shows his love, something that he enjoys doing for others because it's in his nature, and if will returns the favor and cares for mike, too, which he clearly does.

i take issue with the way that so many people in this fandom run in the opposite direction of canon (and straight into antithetical and regressive stereotype territory but i digress lmao) because they somehow think that's better representation or whatever. well, guess what, dude!!! not only is that not canon, but sometimes !!!! people !!!! just need more help than others !!! and that's fucking okay !!! it does not make them weak or bad people. it's not a character flaw that you need to overcorrect! it does not make will Bad Representation or whatever! that is the way that their relationship has pretty much always been and it clearly works for them because it's a relationship that is otherwise (when you erase the whole hiding your romantic love thing) filled with honesty, intimacy, and acceptance, making it canonically the most special relationship they have!!!

like. will is entirely loveable and fine just the way that he is. mike has been shown to be an ultra nurturer, and he does it because he wants to and feels it's the right thing to do. he does it without expecting anything in return, and he does it just because he wants to see the other person be well. because if he has the ability and resources to help, he feels it's his duty to. you do not have to erase that and, in turn, erase very important and necessary parts of their character!!!! i promise you that it's fine!!! they like this!!! mike literally lit up like the fucking sun when will said he would always be needed and will said it without any shame, so please for the love of god stop trying to fix something that ain't broke!!!!! mike knows will well enough to care for him in a way that canonically no one else can and in a way that he actually enjoys AND FEELS EMPOWERED BY (!!!!!!!!!) and will is the only one that can know what's up with him without words needing to be said, that makes him feel safe enough to open up, that somehow always knows exactly what to say and what it is that mike needs to hear!!! just stoppppp stop meddling with the text stop stop stoppppppp i Beg u, brother

[turtle--soup]

Which of your TMayNT pieces were your favorites to do?

Do you have any favorite TMayNT posts you've seen from others?

I really enjoyed drawing these two

mostly because I LOVE the art styles for the Mirage comics and for Mutant Mayhem, and it was really fun trying to incorporate some of that vibe into my art work! I'm also really fond of the little picture of my versions of Leo and Raph that I added onto my post for day 22 because they're my baby boys and I love them! 💙❤

I'm only just now realising that I never got round to drawing Donnie for any of the prompts! I'm sorry Donnie! I really wanted to get more of these done but life kind of got in the way this month! Maybe I'll do some more of them and post them anyway...

These are a few of the posts I liked that other people did

https://www.tumblr.com/hoodiehorizon/750047003021656064/day-9-of-tmaynt-favorite-raph-my-favorite-cool?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/just-another-tired-gay-artist/751416269709983744/tmaynt-days-6-8-fave-mutant-allyfave-turtle?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/sabrondabrainrot/751653903578365952/day-14-favorite-movie-tmaynt-this-is-a-scene?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/kobbers/749328699036483585/tmaynt-day-1-favorite-turtle-in-a-real-sense-all?source=share

but there were so many really great things that were posted! It was a lot of fun!

Thank you for the ask! What were some of your favourite things that came out of TMayNT?

[genderdryad]

i feel like i shouldn't have to plaster "mspec/male 'lesbians' dni" all over my page but here we are

[wernerherzogs]

hi kasia! I know you’re very busy with the apartment remodeling (I hope that’s going well!! Or not awful at least) but I was wondering if you had any recommendations for places to visit in Poland? I’m visiting one of my friends in Krakow but I’ll have a few extra days to myself so I wanted to see if you had any recs :) thank you!

hi anon! i hope this isn't too late 🏃🏻‍♂️🙈 i apologise for not having had the time to respond earlier!!! unfortch i AM very busy these days ):

but ANYWAY. if it's just a few days, i'd recommend sticking to Kraków or taking a train ride to either the mountains (Zakopane, for example, which is super touristsy, but probably also the easiest to navigate as a foreigner) or Warsaw. keep in mind though (bc idk when you'll be here) that October 31 and November the 1st and then November the 11th are public holidays in Poland (the first two religious, and the latter is Independence Day, def avoid Warsaw around then) and the trains and roads will be super crowded.

i'm only going to stick to Kraków i apologise but i'm sure your friend is gonna help out a lot with recs as well! and Warsaw most certainly has a great web presence for touristsy spots, but if you need me to at list some bigger museums or etc. at least, let me know. LASTLY, i'm about to copy paste recs i gave to another mutual a few months back, so - Steph, if you're seeing this, i hope you don't mind! 🩷

first things first, jakdojade.pl (either the app version, or just www.jakdojade.pl opened via the browser app) is a super handy website that shows you how to get from point A to point B, which buses/tram lines to take, etc. there are some major road renovations taking place right now around the Most Dębnicki area (near the Wawel castle), so please keep that in mind! not sure about the tram lines around the Main Train Station as well. 🤔 i think there were plans to renovate the Lubicz line, but i don't remember when. :(

Kraków is great for sightseeing, because it's quite densely built, so you can see a lot of landmarks just by walking around on foot in the Old City area! the Old City is situated like 7 mins from the main train station. in the Main Square area, the Mariacki church with an altar of a famous polish artist Wit Stwosz is definitely worth seeing, as well as Sukiennice (the building right in the center of the Square) with its underground museum.

near the Main Square, there's a gallery of modern art called Bunkier Sztuki, address: Rynek Główny (Main Square) 20, 31-008 Kraków. i haven't been there in a few years so i'm actually not sure what the current exhibits in there are and if they're worth seeing, but hopefully they are!

there's Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich on św. Jana street 19, 31-017 Kraków which used to host Da Vinci's The Lady with an Ermine, but i think it's currently on loan for some museum in Warsaw? it was actually transferred to the National Museum of/in Kraków earlier this year, but google is being confusing, so i'm not sure if it's currently there or in warsaw 🤔 the National Museum is another place you might potentially want to visit: Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, al. 3 Maja 1 street.

there's obviously the Wawel Castle, the historic residence of Polish kings, as Kraków used to be Poland's capital before Warsaw. i haven't been inside in years, but it's probably still worth it! and even if you don't wanna/decide to go inside, you might want to just stroll around the castle grounds. Wawel is right in the city centre as well, so it's another one of those Kraków's staples you can go to by foot!

around the Main Square, there are several "famous" streets with quirky cafes and shops you can visit. and even if you don't go inside, you can just stroll down those streets to get a feel of the city. for example the Floriańska street, Grodzka street, saint Jan or saint Tomasz streets, the Bracka street. no matter which one of these you decide to take from the Main Square, you'll be getting that Kraków experience :)

then there's the historic Jewish district of Kraków called Kazimierz. on one hand, packed with difficult history, on the other, it's become the most hip part of the city! again, loads of famous cafes, pubs, and shops are situated there, some festivals take place there, and so on. you can just stroll around the district, and then visit the Mocak gallery of contemporary art, for example! https://en.mocak.pl/ , address 4 Lipowa St 30-702 Kraków.

just like with Bunkier Sztuki, i haven't seen the current exhibits there, so idk if they're any good, but i personally like Mocak, and you might like it as well! it's at the edge of the Kazimierz district, and the Kazimierz district is right next to the Old City district. you can go from Old City to Kazimierz on foot or take a few quick tram stops.

https://duze-podroze.pl/krakow-kazimierz/

this site is in Polish, but you can take a look at the bolded names and pics - it's a handy guide re: what to look for when you're strolling around in Kazimierz. there are jewish cemeteries, synagogues, the Boże Ciało church, the Wolnica square with Muzeum Etnograficzne (etnographic museum) on it... (https://etnomuzeum.eu/ , the site has an english version that i can't link to directly for some reason). loads of places to see even if you want to just look at them from an outside, you know?

some other places potentially worth checking out: Jagiellonian University's botanical gardens, address Mikołaja Kopernika 27, 31-501 Kraków.

then there are three locations of the Museum of photography in Kraków BUT i'm gonna come clean and admit i still haven't visited any ajdjd 🏃🏻‍♂️ so idk if they're any good, and also they don't seem to have english versions of their websites? unless my phone is failing me. but street addresses are: Rakowicka 22A, Józefitów 16, Królowej Jadwigi 220.

tl;dr sticking to Kraków is a great idea for a short stay, because you can concentrate on only two districts (Old City/Main Square + Kazimierz), and there'll be PLENTY to see, and you can reach those places by foot or via short tram rides! if you're thinking about taking some trips in the Małopolskie voivodeship where Kraków is situated, there's the historic Wieliczka saltmine which is pretty famous: https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/ but you'd need winter clothes for that underground trip. you can reach Wieliczka by regular city buses, which is great.

then there's obviously Oświęcim known as Auschwitz-Birkenau, but that one would be heavy, and it'd take probably at least a half of your day: https://www.auschwitz.org/en/visiting/ as it's further from Kraków than Wieliczka.

please remember that the opening hours tend to be 9 am - 6 pm in most places, sometimes even shorter one day a week (sunday or monday or tuesday, typically), or some of them might be closed one day a week. so always remember to check them beforehand! it's also always worth checking if any place has any dedicated day where they offer a free pass or a discount too, you should find that info on their websites.

some places to eat in you might want to check out, although again, i'm sure your friend will be helping out with these as well: Zapiekanki in okrąglak (legendary, mandatory spot!), Nolio, Hamsa, Akita Ramen, Boccanera ristorante pizzeria, trattoria la campania, ima sushi, Sushi Royal, Viale Verde, Restaurant Martello, Sushi 77, Restauracja Bianka, Chinkalnia Restauracja Gruzinska, Hospudka u Nas

aaand that's all from me, sorry i didn't have the time for more! 🩷 HOPE U ENJOY YOUR STAY!!!!!!!!

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Just scrolling through your blog (loving all the AU's by the way) and I gotta say, I'm not sure I understand the full on hatred Freddy and Gregory are getting (although I feel like I should mention that the GGY story does heavily imply that Freddy is specifically more involved in protecting "Dr. Rabbit" than the other animatronics are, even though his code is found in them as well.) I haven't gotten the full details of what your version of sb and ruin is (you've written a lot and it's all great) but if it's anything like how the games played out? Then their biggest crime is not going back to repair the other glamrocks once the pizzaplex shut down.

Gregory had to face each animatronic on his own, a little kid against a giant robot wanting to kill him. The excessive force makes sense. Especially since they ARE robots and can be repaired. Sure it would still effect them given how sentient they are but the damage he did to them was a lot less permanent than what they could have done to him. Yeah he owes them an apology but he has more reason to be wary of them than they have of him. And Freddy? Yeah he probably could have done more but at the end of the day his one goal was keep Gregory safe and get him out of there. All he did was let himself be upgraded.

As for Cassie? Personally, I'm of the view that the moment Gregory gets cut off by the mimic in the elevator he is booking it to the pizzaplex, mimic be damned. He's waking Vanessa, unplugging Freddy from the charging port and dragging them there. Sure it's Roxy who opens the lift doors to check on her, she's already down there, but I'm certain it's Gregory and the others who find a way to get them out, all while Gregory is begging for her to be okay because this is EXACTLY what he wanted to avoid. He's probably having a breakdown, the moment he sees Cassie is okay he'd probably collapse and hug her and Cassie would be understandably suspicious but his reaction is not what she'd expect which would catch her off guard.

Because, here's the thing I think people overlook or maybe just don't see fit to mention, Gregory had no reason to wait for Cassie to get into the lift before dropping it. If he wanted to trap the mimic down there he could have disabled it beforehand. If he wanted to tempt the mimic into the shaft and then drop the elevator on top of it? He could have waited until Cassie got out at the top and then done it, the increased height would have definitely done more damage to it. Though considering how it tosses a forklift so hard it imbeds itself into the cave wall? When Roxy had a hard time lifting one off her? This thing is much stronger than a regular animatronic and could probably survive that easily.

The mimic on the other hand? Needs Cassie dead, has been mimicking Gregory all night and has access to the systems through the network once Cassie disabled MXES for good. It didn't need the concrete wall destroyed, it could have left through the other side of the room and went for the elevator shaft the moment Cassie turned off the computer. But it didn't. Because with Cassie as a witness it loses its chance to disappear without people knowing about it. If Cassie escapes she can cut it off, she's the only one in the Plex capable of accessing both the V.A.N.N.I network and tampering with the security nodes. If she gets out she can turn them back on. If she's dead then the mimic can be long gone before anyone else with that ability arrives.

(sorry for the ramble, once I got started I couldn't stop.)

You're good on the rambling lmao I'm gonna go through this paragraph by paragraph to make sure I get everything for you

I completely understand why you'd think I hate Freddy and Gregory given what me and @/jellycreambloodlust (affectionate) have talked about a lot lately. I don't actually hate either of them and I don't think I'd ever take a story in the direction of killing either of them, but ya know, it's all in good fun. I'd kill off my favourites if it was fun too lmao I absolutely don't hate either of them at all I promise. I've also not read GGY and since it's written by Andrea Cradenza-Tubehell Waggener, there's a very slim chance I ever will. I've read the wiki summary of the story though so I kind of know what goes on in it, I just don't know the details and stuff, ya know?

Interesting to know Freddy is implied to be protecting Doctor Rabbit though! I was thinking about this a little bit ago and that was my guess on how Freddy would have been on Gregory's side during he events of SB if you considered GGY to be canon. That's cool, I'm glad I got that one right! Anyway!

In terms of Gregory, I don't see much fault with his actions to be fair. You're absolutely right, this is a kid in a giant pizzaplex full of animatronics that want to kill him. It's a fairly reasonable response, and tells us a bit about how he thinks when he has to handle big problems. If you look at it from the lense of him being recently freed from Glitchtrap, it makes even more sense for him to do that, as he knows what each one of them is capable of and the less weapons Glitchtrap and Vanny have at their disposal, the better. It also explains why he chose to save Vanessa and how he knew what to do, and we already know Freddy is his favourite so of course he'd choose him to protect him.

From the other side though, you can kinda understand why they'd all be upset. It's not their fault they're being controlled, and before Ruin came out, I said they would probably not blame Gregory for it at all once things calmed down again. Having damaged body parts is completely different to an animatronic than it is to a human, yeah, but you also have to consider how these parts were taken. Roxy is a racer, so she was hit with a go-kart. Chica loves food, so she was crushed in the kitchens with all the food waste. Monty is said to stand by the Lucky Bucket a lot, so he falls from the Lucky Bucket. The things that mean the most to them, are the things that got them destroyed. Then some kid comes along and takes their strongest parts away to stick them on Freddy. They're not saved like Freddy is, they're seen as weapons, tools and opportunities, which would really fucking suck.

They have a right to be upset about it I think. Gregory isn't entirely in the wrong for doing it either. It's a complicated situation, especially if you remember that Roxy is a security node, who most likely was keeping the Raceway and Salon shut on purpose, and was potentially using those eyes to keep track of Mimic through the floor. We can't be sure that was the purpose of the eye upgrade, but the provided reason for it doesn't add up and the logs surrounding Roxy are worded as if they're just grasping at straws to explain her behaviour. With a threat like Mimic in play, taking Roxy's eyes is probably not a great plan! Can't really blame Roxy for being pissed off about that one!

Neither side here is really at fault given the circumstances, and I think if the animatronics were to be freed, they'd have come to that conclusion on their own too. I'm with you on Gregory's actions being understandable, I agree with you there. I definitely don't hate or blame him for it. I'll get to Freddy in a minute though.

Yeah I don't think Gregory dropped Cassie either. It would be an interesting story regardless whether he did or not, but you're right. It absolutely doesn't make sense for him to have done it. The way he talks even changes part way through that ending dialogue, I don't think it was him. Especially now that I know there's a staffbot encounter that Gregory sometimes talks through in an attempt to reach Cassie. It just doesn't make a lot of sense

When we've been talking about it lately, it's been almost entirely from Cassie's perspective. Unless Cassie figures it out, she's probably going to believe that Gregory is the one that dropped her right at the end. That's the scenario most of the recent talking has been about. Cassie believing it was Gregory and trying to get justice for that. Like I said, it's all in good fun, ya know?

I feel Cassie is pretty smart, and the question of why would stay on her mind for a very long while. I think with some help, she would be able to come to the conclusion that it probably wasn't Gregory, but in a situation like that, I don't think anyone could be one hundred percent sure. I mean, there's always going to be some doubts, right? She was betrayed twice in like... ten minutes by the same voice after all, I think that's fair enough.

And to consider it from Gregory's side? That's a hell of a situation to be in, I'm not sure how you'd come back from that. I mostly mess around with scenarios where Gregory has no idea Cassie is down there at all, possibly even getting an alert weeks later as if it's just happened, so Cassie not trusting him is completely out of nowhere for him. It's an interesting scenerio to have Gregory, Vanessa and Freddy show up to help too and there's so many ways that one can go, but I feel like with Roxy being a security node, they maybe can't actually get down there now. The MXES isn't completely offline now, right? That door won't open until it's offline. So now they'd have to scramble to try and see what's going on and try and get in contact to help from up top which is probably hell on earth

I mean, knowing what she does, would Roxy even let them connect to her? Probably not! Which also probably doesn't help! It probably feels like they've gotten no closer to actually helping than when they were back home trying to get in contact with Cassie! Awful! Hell of a situation! I feel like Gregory's first thought would be to bust the door down though which probably ends with another forklift stuck in a wall or nearly flattening Roxy as she gets out with Cassie, but he's trying his best! He's got to do something, right? It's better than feeling helpless!

Now uh... well then there's Freddy. I want to start by saying once again, I don't hate him, and I haven't read GGY.

With that said, if you look at what he does in the game, including all of the aspects of him that are clearly just there for game design purposes... He's to blame for almost everything. Unless he is still acting on whatever GGY programming he has, he's to blame for a good chunk of the game. And honestly? I find him more interesting in this light.

To briefly explain, he just does basically nothing. This is a game design thing, I'm aware, but as this is usually framed as a choice on his part, I choose to treat it as such. He leaves Gregory alone for the vast majority of the night unless specifically called on to help. He is fully aware that the others aren't acting as they usually do. There's no way he doesn't know what happened to them as he's actively helping Gregory do this stuff. He chooses when it's okay to make exceptions to the rules, and when not to, for example, he takes Gregory to the staff tunnels where he shouldn't be, but won't open the VIP door for him to leave unless he has a VIP pass, same with the loading docks etc etc. In this situation, he is the only responsible adult available, with the task of keeping this child safe and getting him out of the pizzaplex, and he consistently chooses not to do anything unless Gregory specifically asks for help.

What I'm saying is that the game would have been over in five minutes if he'd actually been trying to help.

Which is interesting to think about! Why is he making these decisions? Does he not feel as if the others are a big enough threat to him? Is it habitual as he often doesn't follow kids around during the day given there's way too many to do that for? Is he doing something else that we don't know about? How does he feel about the others if he's prepared to leave the Pizzaplex at a moments notice like that? He clearly loved Bonnie, so is it all to do with a sense of grief? That it doesn't really matter anymore now that Bonnie isn't there or something? And fuck, how does everyone else feel, knowing that Freddy didn't even once stop Gregory from destroying them and didn't once try to help them? How do they feel knowing that he left them when they needed help?

Even factoring in GGY's coding being a potential reason for this stuff, if the actual, untampered with Freddy is in there, knowing what's going on, is he trying desperately to stop it? Is he trying to help? Or is he just sort of nodding along like "yeah that makes sense"? Or has he just given up completely? Who's to say?

So I definitely don't hate him. I won't say he's my favourite or anything because he absolutely isn't, but I don't hate him. He's interesting to me, just not in a way the majority of the SB fandom seems to like, which is fair enough. We all like what we like and we all have our own interpretations and stuff, there's no wrong way to have fun, right?

I hope this clears some stuff up and I'm also sorry for rambling lmao

tl;dr:

I don't hate Gregory at all, don't blame him for his actions in SB and don't think he dropped Cassie in Ruin. I blame Freddy instead.

[unquietgrave]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals <3

[johnbly]

WIP game!

i was tagged by @tortoisesshells ✨

so i have two fics going one rn: 1) in the boat purgatory in at world's end, james comes across gov swann and the two have a final conversation together (not using that for this since i haven't done too much but something to look forward to i guess) and 2) bolt's "what if james had a dragon" fic and subsequent discussions and questions has me now doing a "what if hornblower had a dragon" fic so here is an excerpt from that:

“Who are you?”  The dragonet is speaking French, and internally Hornblower swears. Is French the only language the creature knows? It’s no issue for him, of course, but how can it be expected to be a British dragon if it only knows French? “Captain Horatio Hornblower, most recently of the HMS Sutherland,” he replies, also in French – awkwardly so, because it’s a ridiculously formal introduction to make to a dragon, but in light of never having conversed with one before he’s fallen back on the old habit of saying more than is necessary. “That is not a French name,” the dragon says. In English. “Non – no, it is not. You speak English, then?” “I do.” Pause. “That was a long introduction. I hope you don’t want me to use it whenever I want to call on you?” The idea of a dragon wanting to call on him at all is no less ridiculous than having a conversation with one, but it – he? The voice is deep – has a point. “You can call me 'Hornblower',” he says.

i don't remember who all is writing things that hasn't already been tagged, so if you see this and are a writer, feel free to share!