#vague ones but yeh

[mscribbles]

YOU'VE JUST BEEN DUNKS'ED!!!

LIKE. RETWEET. SUBSCRIBE. MUTE NOTIFICATIONS. UNYEAH. EXPLODE. PERISH. to EPICALLY dunk your friends and family!!!

redraw originals:

[dol-dee]

Hm I would love to continue Dee's dol journey and play it more but I feel like I’m starting to run out of stuff

[organised-disaster]

I just bought the whole pack for Outer Wilds because it was on sale and I'm already having so much FUN!!! I've experienced hilarious situations such as:

Anti-gravity cave! Yay! Down I go and off to the spot that requires repairs! Matching velocity and wait stop why is it moving away come back why am I spinning dear God no eeeesaaauuuuggggggGGGHHHH

Ew ew EW Dark Bramble Seed Ew Ew Ew oh no no mo MY SCOUT MY SCOUT THE ANGLERFOSH NONKNONKOOOOONOOO

To the geysers! And in I g- [blrbrlrbrlebrlblrlggh] oh yaya! A crystal like in the observatory! And it's got its own signal! Quantum displacement? What happens if i- [is subjected to the nightmare chorus] oh

And now we leave planet! Oh a roll function? What does that do? Let's find ou- [timeskip ten seconds, screaming as I spiral out of control into the gravitational pull of the sun]

Oho the universe locator!!! And there is Giant's Deep and the Sun and NOT the eye of the universe teehee and eugh [said with utter contempt] dark bramble

WHERE ARE YOU MYSTERY WHISTLE MAN. I WILL LOCATE YOU BY GETTING UP HIGH ENOUGH AND [exits Atterlock's orbit] oh no. guck. oh heaven help me. please no

I've accidentally locked onto the Interloper instead of Brittle Hollow, guess I'm heading there. [there] Wow this place is Barren™️. Guess I'll hop off now and - [narrowly avoids plummeting into Dark Bramble] WHAT THE HELL INTERLOPER. I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS. WHY NOT DROP ME OFF SOMEWHERE AWESOME LIKE GIANT'S DEEP.

WJERE DID MY SJHIP GO [parked on the Ember Twin]

Distress beacon? What? Oh no, I need to find the source of it before - [the music]

[stares directly at a supernova while accelerating towards Timber Hearth with the intention of cooking a marshmallow and watching the solar system end from there]

Round two hjahaja! Destination one: Brittle Hollow! Now I just need to not plummet directly into the Black Hole That Sends You To The End Of The Known Universe©️ and I'll be good to start exploring! [ship smashes into the surface at 600km/h] nevertheless I am unharmed!

And now I will carefully descend so as not to fall into the Black Hole That Sends You To The End Of The Known Universe©️ and I can be on my merry [smashes into an overhang at Mach 2, corpse falls into the Black Hole That Sends You To The End Of The Known Universe©️]

[dragonofthestone]

Some incredibly Tim Things.

I finally picked up a copy of, My Brain is Different.

A collection of stories from real people about their experiences of life with well Adhd and other Developmental Disorders

[just-jammin]

am bored

here a music rec

[freeuselandonorris]

honestly would kill to see your take on any kink ever, but I must admit I haven't been able to get your thoughts on electrostim out of my mind since you shared them so. that one. (+camshow if you're feeling it 👀)

ps.: I did have a good festive season, and I hope you did too!! 🫶🫶

glad to hear it! 🫰 mine has been. mixed. but mostly good thank u!

obviously could not resist this one. enjoy oscar being the stone cold freak for once!

Lando had asked to see it, mainly because he didn’t entirely believe Oscar was telling the truth. 

Oscar was cool and everything. Funny, with a saucy mouth on him once you got to know him. But you had to admit the guy came off as — well. Vanilla. 

So when they’d gotten pissed together on leftover Moët in Lando’s suite and Oscar had picked up the TENS machine Jon had left in there, turned it over in his hands and said, “are you into electrostim?” in tones of nervous delight, Lando hadn’t even considered it might be some sort of weird sex thing.

What the fuck is electrostim? he’d asked, tipping the remnants of his glass down his throat, which meant he didn’t notice Oscar’s horrified expression for a few seconds. 

“Nothing,” Oscar said quickly, but by that point Lando had clocked the blush spreading rapidly across his cheeks and perked right up. Even then, he’d figured it was something embarrassing, but not — that. 

He’d not believed it, when Oscar explained it. How you could wire up the same kind of machine Jon used to zap the cramps out of his aching thighs and stick it round your cock. Not that Oscar said it so brazenly. There was a lot of umm-ing and err-ing, a lot of vague hand gestures and stuttering, before Lando got the picture. 

“Fuck off,” Lando said when Oscar finished stammering out the barest of explanations. “Really? You?”

”Jesus, Lando,” Oscar said, somewhere between exasperated and indignant.

“I bet you a hundred quid you can’t,” Lando said. 

Oscar shrugged. “Believe what you like.”

Lando, whose impulse control was bad at the best of times and even worse combined with half a bottle of champagne and a burgeoning stiffy, picked the machine up from where Oscar had dropped it onto the coffee table and held it out. “Show me?”

Oscar gaped at him. He was redder than Lando had ever seen him, but he didn’t look mad or anything. Just — blindsided, maybe. 

“Not now,” Oscar said eventually. His voice came out in a kind of croak, and he cleared his throat before he spoke again. “Maybe — maybe some other time.”

Lando knew a brush-off when he saw one, so he shrugged and changed the subject and tried not to feel too mortified about it. Oscar made his excuses after another glass, sloped off to his own bedroom, and Lando put the whole embarrassing affair out of his mind. 

When his phone buzzed a week later with a text from Oscar, he had to read it twice before he understood it.

Osc 19:48 Hey. I took a video if you’re still interested. No worries if not, don’t want to pressure 🙂

Lando breathed out hard through his nose, blinking at his phone.

lando 19:50 thats the politest sext i’ve ever had yeh i am pls

Osc 19:51 🙄 it was hardly a sext [video attached]

The thumbnail was blurry, a flash of maroon and some squiggles that might be wires. Lando swallowed hard, thumb hovering over the play button. He tapped it.

”Okay,” Oscar’s voice came from the phone’s speaker, quiet. Lando kicked the volume up a couple of notches, watching a confusion of movement. Oscar’s torso, clad in his usual plain t-shirt, and a pair of khaki knee-length shorts, open at the waist. The wires Lando had spotted led out to a hand-held control box, similar to the one Jon used but a different model. 

On-screen, Oscar cleared his throat. “Had it on for five minutes or so already,” he said. His voice was a little shaky, like he was nervous. He swallowed audibly before he spoke again. “So I’m a little — I’m already, you know.” A soft laugh. “Sorry, don’t know how well I’ll be able to, um, talk you through it. Let me just — I’ll just show you.”

He exhaled, audibly steeling himself, and Lando felt himself mirror the action unconsciously. His hands were sweating enough to worry he might drop his phone. He swore under his breath and hit pause on Oscar, heading through to his bedroom and flopping back onto the bed. After a moment’s deliberation, he shoved his own shorts down to mid-thigh. He wasn’t hard yet, but — well. Better to have the option. 

He hit play. Oscar-on-the-screen hummed thoughtfully and then the screen blurred again. Some scuffling sounds that made Lando wince, the screen going briefly dark and then bleaching light again until Oscar came back into focus from the neck down to mid-thigh, standing in what looked like his bathroom with the camera, presumably, propped on the sink. 

“Right, that’s better,” Oscar said, and breathed out again, a short sharp exhalation. “Okay, here goes.” 

He put the control box down, out of shot, and visibly straightened his spine before he pushed his shorts down. No boxers. Oscar, Lando thought admiringly. I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.

It took the camera a few moments to focus, but when it did, Lando bit back a groan. Oscar’s cock was thick, semi-hard, and covered in wires. A thick black loop of it cinched tight around the base, and another snug beneath the head of his cock, trailing a black wire. 

“Had it on low,” Oscar said. “I’ll turn it up a bit.”

His hand reached out of frame and adjusted something, and he gasped. His cock jerked, filling out in front of Lando’s wide eyes. Oscar made a soft noise, the muscles in his forearm flexing as he adjusted something else that made his cock jump again, a tiny rhythmic pulse. 

“Ah,” Oscar said. “That’s — about halfway now. Feels pretty intense.”

He adjusted himself with one hand, pulling the top loop of wire a little tighter with the plastic toggle tucked up tight beneath the head. His long fingers hovered for a second, like he was struggling not to jack himself off, help things along. 

Lando let out a string of curses beneath his breath and grabbed himself. He thumbed at the bottom of the screen to bring up the playback bar. Jesus, the video wasn’t even a quarter of the way through yet. 

He watched Oscar’s cock get harder, bobbing in midair. Lando tuned himself into it after a minute or so. He could tell when Oscar adjusted the intensity of the current by the way Oscar’s cock flushed red, jolting against his belly, the veins on the underside pulsing beneath his foreskin. 

Still, it made him gasp when Oscar’s cock blurted thin clear liquid. It trickled down the side of his cock and dropped out of sight. 

“Yep,” Oscar said tightly. “Yeah, it’s. Getting good now.”

“Oh my God, Oscar,” Lando said to his empty room, voice shocked and shaking. 

Oscar hummed again, a low rumble in his chest. When he spoke again, it sounded like an effort. “Sometimes it makes me, uh. I think it stimulates my bladder or something, so — just to warn you.”

Lando let out a shuddering breath, blinking hard at the screen. This was insane. Both of them had clearly lost their minds. He wondered, for a brief paranoid second, whether this was some sort of sophisticated deepfake scam and he was going to have his bank account emptied or his DMs leaked yet again. But no, Oscar had said it to his face. 

“Right,” Oscar’s voice came over the speaker. “Gonna take it up another notch. It’s getting — it’s strong now.” 

Lando could hear it now. A faint ticking sound, barely there, pulsing in time to the jerk of Oscar’s swollen cock. Oscar pulled up the hem of his t-shirt with one hand and clenched his abs, gasping. 

“Ah, jeez,” Oscar gritted out, and on the screen, his cock jumped and let out a spurt of liquid. It spattered wet against his stomach, dripping down. Too far away from the camera to be able to see what it was. 

Lando curled his toes into the bedding. He was wanking furiously now, skin slapping against skin sounding overly loud in the room compared to the processed sound of Oscar’s heavy breaths. On the screen, Oscar’s cock was pulsing rhythmically, drooling clear liquid with every movement. Little droplets ran down the shaft, dripping to the floor. The hem of Oscar’s t-shirt had fallen down again when he’d let go of it, and it was dark and damp. Lando found himself wanting to suck it clean.

”Not—” Oscar’s breath hitched on a moan. “Not long now.” 

You’re telling me, Lando thought wildly, squeezing himself around the base to try to calm himself down. He was panting, thighs flexing with the need to come, but Oscar hadn’t yet, and he wanted to see it. 

“Okay,” Oscar was saying on the screen, more to himself than the camera. “Gonna — gonna turn it up to max now, and that’ll probably do it.”

He reached out then and picked up the phone, bringing it closer to his straining cock. As the camera moved, Lando caught a glimpse of his face, red and shining with sweat. 

“Ready?” Oscar’s voice came over the speakers, and Lando moaned at the shock of being directly addressed. 

Oscar reached his other hand out to the control unit, and Lando saw his thighs clench, his cock lurch violently. 

“Oh, fuck,” Oscar rasped. “Fuck, fuck, fuck—” 

He came, untouched and messy, spraying across his t-shirt. Before he knew it, Lando was coming too, letting it get all over his own stomach as Oscar’s ragged gasps echoed in his ears. 

Lando stopped coming before Oscar did. Oscar’s cock was red and angry-looking, still spurting thin liquid every few seconds as his thighs shook visibly. Then the screen tilted dizzily, and the video stopped.

Lando stared at the screen, shell-shocked. His brain felt like it had been hollowed out. 

“Fucking hell,” he croaked to the phone. He wanted to laugh, slightly hysterical. Instead he wiped his sticky hand on his shirt and swiped out of the video, back to his message thread with Oscar.

lando 20:03 omfg wow

A second later, Lando’s phone vibrated, but there was no reply in his thread with Oscar. Instead, there was a notification from his bank. Lando opened it.

Oscar Piastri has requested funds! Oscar Piastri has requested £100.00 GBP.  Message from recipient: “Told you so.” Accept request to transfer funds?

[hero-hoe]

For the #1 Captain MacTavish enthusiast @brewed-pangolin after talking about that bubble butt 🥵🥵 I had a brain worm

MDNI 18+ ONLY. Vague smut, marriage kink, body and chest hair worship. PiV. Fem!Reader.

Captain John MacTavish who knows exactly what his body looks like, heavy muscles with a healthy layer of fat and even warmer layer of hair all over his body. The man is damn near furry, and he knows exactly how it makes you feel. You, the bonnie lass he met after retirement who he immediately had to wife up.

You, the sweet little thing he loves waking up to long after sunrise on lazy Sunday mornings Cuddled together in bed with you wearing his shirt, your soft thighs thrown over his thick ones, knees cradling his defined waist. One hand behind his head, tucked up under the pillow for extra comfort while the other guides your rocking hips. Letting your delicate hands grope at his chest, knowing you love his "hairy tits" as you once called them.

"That's it, hen. Doin' so good fer me." He groaned, eyes half lidded yet so full of love as he watched you grind yourself on his shaft so lazily. You'd both been at it all morning, the dark brown hair of his thighs now slicked to his skin with your juices. He loved seeing himself covered in you nearly as much as you loved toying with his hair.

Your deft fingers were carded under the loosely curled hairs on his chest, groping at his pecs for balance with every motion, tugging on the pelt of your warrior.

"Atta girl. Can feel ye gettin' close again." The hand comes out from behind his head, moving to cradle yours instead and push your face into his chest. A low moan left his throat when your teeth bit into his flesh, just hard enough to leave an indentation on the side of his breast. "C'mon, lass, be jus' let go fer me." He insists, moaning as you tug the hair on his chest once again in desperation. "Shh, ah ken is a lot, hen, but ma wife can take it, yeh? Ma perfect girl can give me one more."

He finished after you did, a few lazy bucks of his hips into your wet warmth while you bit and drooled into his chest, making a mess of the hair you had so neatly finger combed earlier that morning. He kept you on his lap once you were both done, reaching onto the nightstand for the water bottle you had left on his nightstand and encouraging you to drink.

A scarred hand smoothed down his frazzled chest hair once you were both adequately hydrated, letting out a disapproving tut. "Look at the mess ye made, love. Ma gorgeous wife had me all groomed and ready, and ye fuffed it up. How about ye fix that, hmm?" He teased, knowing just how much you loved getting his hair in order. Be that his mohawk, now musch longer than it was in his service days, or the hair adorning every inch of his powerful body.

Your fingers worked with expert care, straightening out the tangles you had made, arranging the hair of his chest to point inward and downwards towards his stomach. You smoothed out what you could of his comfort-softened tummy, but his grip on your waist wouldn't let you go far enough to reach below his navel.

"Much better, love. Ah'm lucky to have such a caring wife, no?"

[icallhimjoey]

Explain Us

♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: So, more than flatmates... but, what exactly? Would be fantastic if you would just, you know, talk about it. But communicating is not your strong suit and you're extremely certain that it's fine. Confusing and vague, but, fine.

CW / disclaimer: rpf, fem!reader, a continuation of define close, no need to read it to enjoy this, though it will help!

Author’s note: oh, we back with the seasons? yeh, we back with the seasooonns! you've asked for more of the flatmates-who-dont-communicate-but-touch-a-lot, and clearly, there's more to unpack, so, enjoy!

Wordcount: 2.6K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

Sometimes you’d forget that you could get a healthy dose of affection without an underlying issue being present. Or at least, the pretence of one. You didn’t need to be upset, real or fake, for it anymore. Could just hug and squeeze and kiss whenever you wanted to.

God, the kissing.

You’d be greeted into your flat with kisses now.

But before, you’d only tangle together when something was wrong.

When your chest would feel tight with emotion and your brain would feel frazzled from lack of sleep. Or lack of food. Or lack of just... overall healthy emoting, because you’d keep all frustrations and worries inside for too long.

But old habits died hard, didn’t they?

And you weren’t alone. Joe would sometimes forget too.

He’d forget that sometimes the two of you could just eat pizza for dinner without this weird hunger to wrap arms around you until all of you was hidden from the world. That you could simply watch a film without the unmanageable need to be protectively connected at the hips.

Joe could pick you up only to throw you onto the sofa, and you’d be so happy to spend the evening there with him. To doze off all sunken into his side, preferably pulled into him tightly, an arm around your back, a big palm spread across your shoulder. Wake up hours later with your fist loosely curled around two of his fingers, your top ridden up from where Joe snuck a hand under, and with legs intertwined to trap the warmth there.

He no longer needed to get you all sulky for that.

But you know what?

It was nice to forget.

It was nice to feel a soft palm press to the small of your back before it would curl around, a low voice asking, “Hey, you okay?” when you’d innocently suggest just ordering a pizza because you couldn’t be bothered cooking tonight.

The temptation to immediately let yourself slide into your feelings was always huge. If Joe was asking, already halfway into curling his whole self around you, who were you to tell him that, oh no, you were absolutely fine, just didn’t feel like cooking, like you said.

It was way nicer to take the opportunity. To sink into your feelings a second and use the moment to unload.

And maybe it had become a subconscious thing, you know?

If you wanted overwhelming soft affection from your flatmate slash kind of... more than flatmate – you’d not spoken about what the fuck this was yet – you wouldn’t even knowingly do it. Your body would take over and you’d suddenly crave pizza. Like a weird sort of cause-and-effect, action-reaction sort of thing. Second nature.

Not just from you.

Joe knew that there were certain ways to look at you for a second too long that would pull tears to your waterline.

He could softly ask, “What’s going on, right now? What’s wrong?” whilst hugging you from behind, nose pushed into your neck, soft lips catching the skin just below it.

Manipulative?

Perhaps.

And completely unnecessary too. But, it was just easier if there was an excuse. If you felt like you deserved a little taking care of. If Joe felt like he was needed at home a little more than he was needed anywhere else.

The first time Joe kissed you, it was just that.

A kiss that felt like it had been a long time coming.

Soft lips brushing, mouths gliding, hands holding your face in palms so big, half his fingers disappeared into your hair around your ears. You had to hold onto his wrists for dear fucking life, scared that the moment would pass too fast and you’d pretend it never happened.

You were stood in the kitchen, socks getting wet from the ice that you’d accidentally scraped from the freezer when you pulled a drawer out with too much vigour.

Joe held your head in his hands and slowly kissed you for what felt like ages. Kissed you like you were made of glass. All tender, almost careful. Lips softly brushing to remember what every single bit of skin felt like.

Every time you thought he was going to pull back, your grip on him strengthened and he’d remain right where he was.

Close.

He kissed you like that until your throat made an involuntary little noise that made you stifle a giggle. Joe felt that giggle, and couldn’t help the smile that overtook his own lips. Twin smiles then pressed together until you could no longer hold the giggles inside, and you freely let them flow into Joe’s mouth, finally breaking the kiss.

Joe let you laugh and pressed his cheek against one of your eyebrows with fondness, keeping you close, his face split by his own huge grin.

“What’s so funny?” Joe asked, his own giggles audible in the back of his throat.

You didn’t have an answer. It was just that the air felt lighter, somehow.

He pulled back and you caught a glimpse of him before he moved back in, trying to steal more kisses. It was a little unfair how Joe just became more attractive with kiss bitten lips, his eyes all glassy. You imagined you looked a right mess. You felt a right mess, anyway. Sort of dizzy, and a little delirious as you tried to grasp the concept of Joe, your flatmate, kissing you.

Joe was kissing you.

Joe wanted to kiss you.

He wanted to kiss you and was then just, doing it.

Well, he tried to, at least. But your frame was shaking with dizzied chuckles, and all Joe got was a stretched corner of your mouth, and then just, teeth. You were difficult to kiss when you got like this, but, God, it was really fucking cute. It was the kind of laughter that felt sticky, laughter you couldn’t seem to shake, so Joe moved his mouth elsewhere, not at all done kissing you yet.

Joe left soft kisses in a trail. Your cheek first, then your jaw, your neck, and then your shoulder over your shirt. His hand moved to grab onto yours and he held it out to the side so he’d get full access all the way down your arm until he reached your palm. The meat of your thumb. The skin just underneath where your fingers began.

Joe pressed soft kisses there until he heard how your breath hitched, and his eyes shot up to look at you. You could hardly bare to make eye-contact at all – this was too soft, my God.

Joe saw.

Felt how he was likely pushing his luck a little with hand kisses. Silly. That shouldn’t be more intimate than what you’d just done, but he understood it was likely a little different to be witnessing the affection with your own eyes.

He needed to get you where you were always most comfortable.

Where you shared intimacy so easily, no questions asked.

Where there was a screen to stare at, to distract your eyes from where hands caressed and fingers swirled.

Joe took two steps before the hand that you were still holding pulled you along, and before you knew it, you’d been dragged over to the sofa where Joe sat down right in the corner. In exactly the best spot. Where he could feel the sofa curl around both his shoulders. And then he let his legs fall open, outstretched with his feet hanging just over the edge, creating the perfect little spot for you to sit.

Which you then did. You sat, with your back pressed against Joe’s front.

Joe turned the TV on, and without anything else said, you shifted until you were all snug. All sheltered. Lower half hidden underneath a throw blanket, top half hidden underneath Joe’s arms that curled around.

Familiar territory.

It took you a second to fully relax this time though, to ease out of your giggles, but you managed to just fine when Joe pressed soft kisses to the top of your shoulder. At first, over your shirt, until an impatient hand snuck around and attempted undoing buttons.

You helped and unbuttoned until you could slip that shoulder out.

Then you watched TV together, and Joe kept his mouth pressed to the warm skin of your shoulder, because that was something he got to do now. Get his mouth places. Rest it where he wanted. Rub it along supple skin where his facial hair would tickle and scratch until he could see your skin grow irritated.

He’d kiss it better immediately.

He would kiss you better every time you’d ask him to.

And also when you wouldn’t ask.

When there’d be nothing to kiss better, he’d still kiss it better. Because he could do that now.

That was another new flatmate-thing that got added to the list, and yea, maybe he should actually tell a friend that he would sometimes kiss his flatmate silly.

And that she actually never really slept in her own bed anymore.

But how would he even begin to explain it?

How would he explain that you moved around your flat like you were a couple that just wanted to reach to touch when they’d pass each other in the kitchen. That would find each other for a quick squeeze when you’d walked in at the end of the day.

He didn’t even know how to explain it to himself.

But when he heard you come in and called a loud, “Hey!” from the sofa, already excited and making space for you there, how could worry not shoot straight into his veins when all he got in reply was teeth chattering.

Yea, it was a little cold out. A bit windy. Joe’d been out to get himself a nice coffee made by someone else earlier, he knew how cold it was.

But then you appeared with wet hair, cheeks red, lips tinted blue and, what the fuck had happened?

“Oh my G– Jesus, you look like you’re frozen!”

Joe was up on his feet already. He’d never seen your body so rigid, all stiff, shoulders pulled all the way up to your ears.

“I am fr-rozen.”

Joe stopped right in front of you and reached for both of your hands. Without thinking, he tucked them underneath his armpits, into the warm fabric there, and squeezed his upper arms close to his body. Your hands were also wet. Was it raining?

“Is it raining?”

“N-no,” you shivered, having great difficulty speaking, and it made Joe’s chest ache. “A bus dr-rove through a b-big puddle, splash-shed me,”

Joe frowned. That couldn’t have gotten you this wet.

“And then– you know the shortcut through the,” you stopped to forcefully exhale, needing the extra focus on your ribcage to make sure you were breathing properly still.

Joe knew which shortcut you meant. Little park that was usually gated closed. When open, it really cut a significant amount of time from your walk home. Didn’t lead you past the shops, but got you home so much faster.

Joe nodded, and moved a little closer to be able to get your face into his hands whilst still making sure you didn’t move yours.

“S-slipped,”

“You fell?”

“I fell.”

You’d not just fallen. You were already wet from the splash a few streets back, and then in your bid to get home quicker, you thanked a God you didn’t believe in when you saw the little gate to the park was open. You dashed through, took one step – one step – onto the unpaved path and misplaced your foot, somehow. You slipped through a puddle, fell sideways onto a hip, your trench ruined, your phone screen cracked, and the muscles and tendons in your leg screamed just as loud as the pain in your hands from where you tried to catch yourself.

You’d taken a real-life comedy-film tumble in cold windy weather and had turned right back around after slowly getting back onto your feet. Fuck that shortcut. It was not to be trusted. That did mean that you had to take the long way home. And thus, why you were fucking freezing right now.

Joe rubbed his thumbs over your blushing cheeks and then leant closer to plant little kisses there.

His warm lips to your cold cheeks made you shudder.

“You need to get out of these clothes,” Joe cooed, already feeling his chest fill up with the knowledge that he’d get to care for you all night. And he was right, about the clothes, but you didn’t want to move your hands. And Joe was kissing your cheeks until they burned. He could hardly blame you for not moving.

Which was good. Joe didn’t actually want you to move.

“Take a hot shower,”

“Mhmm,” you closed your eyes and tensed your jaw, trying your best to make your teeth stop chattering.

“Put some warm, dry, comfortable clothes on after,”

“Yea,”

“I’ll throw these into the washer,” Joe moved a hand down to tug on the wet trench coat you were still wearing. “And order a pizza.”

You would’ve whimpered had Joe not quickly moved on from your cheeks to planting kisses right onto your purple lips.

Just a few.

Just to warm them up.

To kiss them better.

Yea, there was no way any of his friends weren’t going to shit on him if he tried explaining any of this.

Not a chance.

It wasn’t like you were telling any of your friends, either.

You couldn’t even vocalise your own feelings to yourself, let alone explain why you’d started allowing yourself to seek Joe out to kiss him for a second.

Why you’d started allowing Joe to kiss you for however long he felt fit.

Why you’d nearly cried in the shower when Joe called and asked what topping you felt like having.

Why you’d ignored your own wardrobe and had instead gone straight to his to find some soft old joggers and one of his T-shirts to wear.

Why you smiled to yourself when he called, “What’s taking you so long? Hurry up!” from the living room.

And why you walked in, rubbing your own arms, because yea, the shower had warmed you up plenty, but getting out and getting dressed had still left you with goosebumps. Why Joe’d jokingly lifted the hem of his hoodie when you walked over, and why you’d not even hesitated for a second when you just wormed your way up in there.

Why you let Joe squeeze you inside of his hoodie until it was getting a little too hard to breathe in there.

Joe kissed you right on the tip of your nose once you emerged, hair wild, cheeks flushed with heat, and you smiled. Were handed a slice of pizza and fucking beamed. Had a bite and watched Joe take one too. Chewed and smiled, and easily let Joe’s hand find yours to intertwine fingers with.

A funny full-mouthed pizza-flavoured kiss followed that made you laugh.

God, you had the best flatmate.

You knew if you told a friend you’d just spent ten minutes in between the layers of Joe’s T-shirt and hoodie, which tangled up your hair and only made the room feel colder once you slunk back out, you’d get asked all sorts of questions.

None of which you could answer.

None of which you wanted to answer, really.

So you just sat. Touched, ate, and kissed. Slept in the same bed. Made him wake up to your alarm five times a week.

You cuddled, snuggled, pressed soft kisses to funny places like the inside of elbows, and found comfort in a place where only couples found comfort.

Yet, you weren’t a couple.

Were you?

No.

You were flatmates.

Just. Flatmates.

Right?

---

The Taglisted

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taglist currently full, sorry

[feraltvman]

What’s it like sharing your body anyway? You getting along with your… “co-hosts”? Is the eyeball demon stuff on your arms one guy or lots of guys? Is each arm harboring a separate entity? How many dudes you sharing that thing with?

Better late than never I suppose-

It seems the Demonic Goop is having a hard time keeping up with BS!Puzzles questions when all it can do is vaguely communicate through his senses or make visuals on his arms

[yeh! The demonic goop helps BS have better senses! When something is coming at him and he doesn't know how to dodge or he flat out doesn't see it coming. The demonic goop hints at his senses. That aspect of his body being connected straight to his brain an all-

It can activate the Puppeteer Hand. Puzzles is NOT fully in control when he is using the Puppeteer Hand- he feels like he is. But his subconscious and the demonic goop are both telling the star

Dodge

So he dodges.... The demonic goop is better at saying HOW to do certain actions however.

Puzzles still gets what he wants. But the thoughts don't ALL belong to him. Hes in control.... But he also doesnt fully realize how much effect this demon truly has on him ;) ]

[freakyeahimacryptid]

use this ask as an excuse to post more about your life series winners au 👉👈 (i like the aesthetic of all the winners sharing a vast albeit eerily empty castle) (i am v interested) (forward slash not forcing)

OMG YEH OFC

Here are my ideas for the windows! (I only drew out three of them so far because i did them during history class)

Grians window is of him standing in the vast dessert. The sun is blaring behind his head and his hair and shawl are blowing in the wind. He has his macaw wings, but their tattered from explosions and the such— only one eye is visible, tears flowing down his cheek and a purple tint to his usual eye color. Only one hand is stretched out, the wind blowing red sand from it. The rimming is gold with soft spirals and edges, symbolizing the softness he felt for Scar (and a very bad doodle of it for you)

Scott's window is a little more elegant. He's standing on a tree, like he was when he got his last kill, and he has a hand over his heart. His other hand is outstretched in a pinky promise to the other two G's, promising his loyalty and the full truth. The scene is at night, with stars creating a small halo around his head. He's also starting directly at whoever is recreating this scene with a soft smile. The rims are shaper, symbolizing the harsh winter that Last Life took place during and the brutality of the game itself. Theyre silver

Pearl's window is the first one to not be directly looking forward, instead looking somewhere out of the scene. She's giving a salute as wind comes rushing at her and there's a glow from a nearby explosion. Her hands and knees have frostbite on them, and her eyes are tired from countless nights alone. Her tower can be seen in the background, and there's the moon behind her head. Stars scatter the night sky, but are flickering in and out of visibility. Tilly is sitting near her feet. The rims of this one are ridgid and broken, made of slowly oxydizing copper, showing her broken and decaying heart.

Martyn's scene is underwater, with seaweed flowing around him and coral poking out of his head. He has a hand raised with a timer striking 0:00 in it, and his other hand covering his eyes. The water makes his hair flow and his ears visible, making his window the only one to have ears included and not eyes. Even thoigh he's in the water, theres still a red planet—Mars—behind his head, reflecting against the waves and creating a contrast to an otherwise very green and blue window. There are bubbles surrounding him. The rim mimics the coral on his head, made of diamonds. Innocent and beautiful, but harsh and cruel if forged in the right ways.

Scars window is another unique one. His head perfectly aligns so it's infront of Bdubs's Earth-Base, somehow repaired from the fires. He's standing in a feild of sunflowers at night, facing away. The black of his cloak shows, as well as his hat, both adorned with lilacs and poppies over black fabric. His face is entirely obscured by the hat except for his sad smile. The rim is amethyst, mimicing the Evo symbol. There are swirls along it that look vaguely like writing from afar.

Cleo's scene is in a village. Pluto is behind her head and she's got a VR headset that she's actively taking off. She looks exhausted from the final fight, but happy that it's over with. One of her eyes is still blocked by the headset, the other changing between closed in relief to open and looking at people passing by. It changes whether she's due for another visit to the castle or not

Joel's is the only one expressing real joy. He's holding an enderpearl in one hand and a sword in another, the enderpearl having a comet-like trail behind it. Around his neck is a key to the car thats silhouetted behind him. There are references to various wold cards around him, like curls in the frame resembling snails, lighting striking in the back for the trivia bot, and a clock around his waist to keep track of how fast they're moving. Overall he just looks cool and happy to be there, a stark difference from the other winners

[aj-artjunkyard]

Imagine if star wars took Anakin’s chosen one-ness to the next level and instead of being born without a father he just kinda. Manifests. in the temple.

Like the Jedi are just hanging out in the gardens and suddenly there’s a bright flash and some collage-age kid in Jedi robes appears and is like ‘uh yeh I’m here to destroy the Dark and bring balance to the galaxy? If someone could just point me to the Sith Lord’

They have to tell him they have no idea where the Sith Lord is but they do know he’s at the centre of this new war and Anakin just goes ��oh ok I guess I’ll help you with that until then’ and he becomes one of the top generals pretty much on accident bc he knows he’s here to kill the Sith and end the war but he knows literally nothing else. The clones approach him to tell him that they made up names that they’d like used instead of CT numbers and he’s like ‘what’s a name’

OR you could have him show up as some small, eldritch being with glowing eyes and an echoing voice that’s just vaguely a human youngling. He speaks in full, clear sentences using words he should not understand at that age, can look straight into someone’s soul and just generally knows things he shouldn’t.

He tells the Jedi who he is and why he is here and tells them to show him to the source of the Dark and obviously the Council is like ‘we are not sending a literal child to kill a Sith Lord’ but he’s technically young enough to be inducted into the crèche and obviously he’s some sort of sign from the Force so there he’s sent.

At first, the Chosen One is dismayed that every time he leaves the room full of toddlers to go and destroy darkness, he is promptly brought back and put in the corner. He is confused why the others his ‘age’ keep trying to convince him to play ‘tag’. He has no idea why the crèche-master takes him to the archives to help him pick a name.

The moment he chooses ‘Anakin’, his otherworldly glow dims and his head feels less full.

As the years go by and more milestones are passed (he plays tag - it was enjoyable. He makes friends. He giggles when Yoda tells jokes. He helped a broken mouse droid because it seemed like the kind thing to do) Anakin becomes more and more human, his glow almost gone and the big words he’d once known forgotten. He can no longer do the impossible feats of Force strength he once could, but that power is still inside him somewhere. Master Kenobi says it will come back to him when the time is right. But not without lots of training.

Either way, when the clones bring up nat-borns and Anakin is ???? the entire 501st misinterprets and believes that every Jedi just pops up in the Temple fully robed

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph Chapter 140 - Thoughts and Analysis (Warning: Spoilers ahead)

Hmm, before starting, I'll make another post about my thoughts so far...I think, or rather I believe at this point, people have grasped the situation with the manga. The way it goes, it has started to connect like a massive web whose missing points are finally fitting...like a whole gear system.

(Hehe, yeah those thoughts will be for the next post)

Now returning or focusing to the latest chapter. In personal taste it was pretty much a bit tad boring given that there was a degree of expectation in terms of what'd appear but of course it doesn't mean it's bad. Actually, we got a new insight along a possible follow up fight between Ferid and Ky Luc.

First of all, the chapter starts with the ones trying to break free who are now again dancing to "save the world". Still, there's a degree of uncertainity given the "cost" of that "saving" the world.

Of course, I'm talking about a difference of ideals between Rigr Stafford, more commonly known as Saito and Urd Geales.

Urd and Rigr being the elders of the vampire council, tend to be the ones to take the decisions that are give more benefit to the world, but given the truth Rigr learnt first hand, doubt began to spread within Rigr along a change of mindset and heart given what the First went through.

Whereas for Urd, such action goes against order. Still, the two of them chose to listen what Yuu had to tell them.

Next, Yuu. Yuu is finally playing smart. We got answered a big doubt ever since Shikama got devoured by Shinoa. Only 30% of his power is within Yuu, whereas the 70% lies with Shinoa.

As to why I mean he's playing smart, it is mostly that he is using that "love" the progenitors have for the First despite everything along the fact of the memories Rigr, the rest of the progenitors (excluding Krul and very likely all those 3rd progenitors that were turned into cursed gear) along Yuu. The fact that the angels existed is a key piece on what exactly the ideals align. But why do I state this?

Simple, Yuu does not exactly have full knowledge of spells. While it's true the First gave three special spells...it does not exactly mean he has all the requirements to trigger them and the second one to know about magecraft is Rigr Stafford as stated in the chapter.

(What I think here is that...Yuu is actually underestimating Guren, Mahiru and Ferid a lot. While it's true he chose to finally leave the nest, there's a reason why I state this which will be for another post, yeh sorry eheh)

But within this, why did the idea of actually taking over the First's goals came to be?

For love.

Rigr at first was like a child, hoping the First would actually acknowledge him as who he is, instead, he found that the First has been trying to resurrect all angels back, and of course with this, it goes with a second point which is "finding a reason to live".

The vampires were left with no reason, spending millenia without changing and now that a fragment of a possibility comes, Rigr isn't hesitating whereas Urd wishes to maintain order.

But why is that? Why is it that Urd is against?

The reason very independent from the love he has for Rigr (I'm not saying it is a romantic love, but I leave it to interpretation for people. We don't know what they endured together when they were human but mayhaps one day we will) is the fact that there are heavy prices to pay in order to save the worlds mentioned. True, everything sounds like a great plan, like the best of the best saving every single thing out, but in order to do so, in order to create a miracle, something must be paid at the same level for such miracle to happen.

The progenitors so far only have a vague idea of the price; and so far they are still dancing to one end goal which was stated back in chapter 108

The final event of the story is very likely heading to that detonation. The battle against the angels, BUT, that will only happen or course depending on which party wins. What do I mean?

Right now, there are four parties at hand.

-Human Team represented by the King of Humanity Kureto Hiragi.

-Guren's Team. A team that is made of Guren, Mahiru and their wild card Ferid Bathory who so far will likely succeed on devouring the 5th Progenitor Ky Luc.

-Yuu's Team which is integrated by the Progenitors, Mikaela and Yuu himself.

Though, how far will such team endure everything? It is unknown for one factor that I'll actually explain later.

And lastly, the new team no one suspected to ever appear given that they were like lambs obeying and following due to the lack of power.

-Shinoa's Squad. Obviously, the team made of Kimizuki, Yoichi, Mitsuba and Shinoa. Who now have a possibility to turn the tables against the King of Humanity and very likely Guren's Team.

All the lines or paths are finally starting to align, the big puzzle is finally merging; and the real battlefield is about to start. The war that will follow up won't be just power alone but strategy and how far the love each team will take them to.

Even if the Progenitors that are currently working with Yuu have chosen to follow up what the First was doing, there are possibilities that such plans won't exactly go as planned given that there are several things in common within three parties and that is the very fact that they are underestimating their respective enemies.

What do I mean?

Vampire Progenitors

The progenitors while holding deep knowledge along having a representant in such field such as Rigr, they have done one thing nonstop which is underestimating lesser Vampire Progenitors such as Ferid along humanity itself. Given their form of being immortals, they believe their battles will forever be won but humanity within the story has displayed that they can still take leaps in order to pursue their objectives.

Humanity's Team and their King of Humanity

While it's true Kureto, despite his methods, has actually tried to make sure humanity prevails; still, he's still in the dark, he has no clue he has several walking corpses but given that factor, along how chapter 140 played at the end, Guren won't allow the walking corpses to turn into dust but rather he'll keep fighting until their goal is set. But still, again they underestimate something. What is it?

Given that they belong to one generation, they believe they'll eventually have the upperhand, which means, they might pull a fight against the Progenitors but not exactly vs Yuu and the Shinoa Squad.

Guren's Team (Mahiru, Ferid and Guren)

Within this team, two of three are underestimating the guinea pigs they managed to gather, what do I mean?

While it is very likely that Yuu's departure was planned, one sole thing wasn't exactly planned. What do I mean?

Correct. In all the story of the manga, Guren made sure to only give power to one sole person within the Shinoa Squad and that was only Yuu given the purpose and goal he had in mind from the beginning. This also includes Mahiru and to some extent Ferid. But the new Wild Card that has popped out is not from the Black Demon Wielders but rather from Shinoa herself.

Given that Shinoa gave a full evaluation along having a purpose for life given that "love" is what fuels her goals along treasuring and protecting the family she has; true, Mahiru has awareness of the power Shinoa has to some extent but not how far they can go, and the very moment Guren's team left the squad and Ferid actually stopping watching them, this gave the opportunity for Shinoa to give her squad to fight on a more equal ground and now that she has the majority of the First's powers along knowing how to enhance and channel the power of all the demons, this can play as backfire against all the demon wielders within the story so far.

How long will it take for the story to finish? I'm not certain, but it is very likely that the end will eventually connect everything into one single thing.

What do you think guys? Let me know?

[havethetouch]

Here be pirates

2020 - Siti, Mahdi

2021 - Ila, Mel, Eli, Asa, Ava, Ife, Niv

2022 - Ixtia

2023 - Lev, Ora, Dar, Ira, Ayo, Efe, Nia, Jia

2024 - Nor

Figured I throw them down all in one post because why not most people are not even aware how vast the cast of this lil pirate story is, and those are the characters that got their design down, I have some more that I still play around with a bit on terms of colours and shapes. Aside from Ava and Lev, everyone got their first design try on a quick headshot that felt right and then threw colours on. Ava and Lev just got a ref sheet right away because idk I hit the golden moment with those two. (context: I hate doing refs and it usually takes me ages to do them even if if I have their designs down to a T. Mahdi for example.. is after Siti oldest characters created for this story and I only finally got around to finish his ref what? At the end of last year (2023)? Niv only got her ref like in July of 2024. Like fuck you could not pay me to do reference sheets the only reason I even do them is so that I can hand them to the handful of people I like to buy comms from (and sometimes for AF) who need the visuals bc they cannot just see them in my head otherwise I would not bother.)

The order these are drawn in is also not necessarily the order those characters have been living rent-free in my head either. Like there is Wyn who I vaguely know what he looks like for 3 years now but I have not brought him to paper yet lol. However the first few are. Siti was obviously the first, it started with her, Mahdi came second in my head even though back then I didn't even knew his name yet, he was an integral part in Sitis backstory and had the workname "Mapmaker/Scholar" but I knew while I tinkered with Sitis story that he needs to come back into the picture and then I started developing him. Technically it went like this: In the course of Sitis bg story she is faced with the loss of people she considered family (among them the mapmaker/scholar who she shared the closest bond with) during a vicious pirate attack at sea that she is the lone survivor of but even as I worked on that part I was like... "ain't no way that this fucker died, he is probably messed up but I bet he survived I want him to survive and reunite with Siti down the line" - and then a bit later in my head (mahdi, kicking the door in) "Hello there. I have risen!".

It still takes the duration of a decade before these two reunite. Which is also the starting point of Siti being the captain bc those two yearn for the sea regardless of the trauma.

After came the first five, being Ila, Ava, Eli, Mel and Asa. Ife and Niv followed soon after and then it kinda gets muddy with the rest. I had some rear up louder some just slipped in through the backdoor and at some point I started to design those as well. Nor is the most recent design in the lineup which I adopted from someone else because I had her down at her core but I could not decide on which animal which vibes but I saw demi-reality sell this zebra lady on their TH and I looked once, twice, thrice and went "oh. That is Nor." It be like that sometimes. But yeh so that is Sitis crew, at least those of them that have fixed designs. It is funny to look at the first headshot ever of Siti she changed not really much at all from that one aside from the fact that I got her unique face shapes down better in a way that I could not properly bring to paper back in 2020. So much shit happened around those years too, many losses in my family, among them my own father so many of these characters are intertwined with that grief and brainfog and memory loss that came with that trauma. A wild time that feels like a different life at times and I'm glad to have it behind me now. And I didn't even mean to get so personal about it here but those characters are, like I said, very much intertwined with a lot of that which also reflects in most of the early casts stories. But yeahhhh anyway I keep tinkering around, lots of writing going on in the background among some other stuff I have planned.

[georgialawman]

rin sensei twam minato.

so the whole rin sensei thing is that kakashi dies instead of rin. How?

Well first I’d say, kakashi doesn’t hit her dead on. but that aside, it’s because kakashi doesn’t straight hit the ground from chakra exhaustion/shock/whatever. he falls still, but he crawls to rin and he begs and he pleads; he promised he’d take care of rin, he promised. his arm was just through her chest— it can’t be like this, she can’t die- she has to live- kakashi promised. obito asked for one thing as he died for kakashi and kakashi promised— he can’t break this, he can’t.

with the sharingan and any life he had left, kakashi ties the sanbi to rin through sheer desperation and uhh yeah tahts it for him. he dies.

Cut to obito. Obitos freaking the fuck out. He just mega murdered a whole bunch of people with power he never had before, rin has a hole through her chest, and kakashi’s right next to her with eyes that won’t close. They’re both dead!!! They’re both fucking dead what the fuck!!!!!!!!! obito is beyond freaking the fuck out. Kakashi killed rin which obito was freaking out about but now kakashi is dead too and all that’s left is obito. The dead boy. Ironically the only one NOT FREAKING DEAD. two of like three people he’s known most of his life- rin good, kakashi less good- but all obito’s had regardless. he’s alone. yeh so he’s not doing good.

Meanwhile, while obito is freaking out: rin is talking to a turtle, a very grumpy turtle. a very unpleasant turtle. she’s talking to a beast. she’s stuck with this beast. there should be nothing but she’s here fighting A GIANT BITCHY TURTLE instead. it’s not pleasant.

While obito freaks out, and rin talks to a turtle; kakashi is done with life literally and figuratively. Why is he seeing obito next to rin instead of next to himself? what the fuck.

he’s all alone.

obito is long gone when Rin wakes up gasping and gagging. ummmhalf a lung down is surely unpleasant. she can’t breathe and desperation burns like fire through her veins, she rolls over into red water. it’s mostly blood atp. everything around her is dull as her body aches for air she can’t get enough of, she can’t think. vaguely she can recognize horror around her; but she doesn’t understand. Her vision blurs and her lungs seize, burning burning burning. all she can do lay back into a puddle that’s more blood than water, and hope the end comes quicker.

The end never comes, but the fire gets weaker. she breathes easier, her mind clears (if only a little), and she’s exhausted. still dull, her attention snaps to a corpse tangled tree. she doesn’t understand. as her clarity sharpens she catches silver beside her, she catches unblinking eyes dead in the water. she catches a dead boy and she can’t breathe again.

she’s all alone.

[estro-gem]

Zooble x Gangle: Anywhere the wind blows

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's note: Welcome to this long-boi fic!

It's long and probably tedious to read, but overall, I'm actually pretty okay with how this turned out. Eh, kinda... I almost decided to scrap this entire thing and write something else, but I already got too far by that point and pushed through - trying to make the best of it.

It has a little bit of everything; some body dysphoria, action, violence, mutilation, stalking, maybe some bad-written tension and a nice section lil' of not-smut.

Good ol' not-smut!

Sorry to all the bunnydoll lovers, this is a zoogang story - and it's a pretty long one.

Bunnydoll is only briefly mentioned, but you also get some messed-up 'bromance' between Gangle and Jax, as well as Zooble losing their marbles while Jax is being Jax, doing Jax stuff...

Warnings:

Suggestive/vulgar language (Mostly censored, but worth mentioning)

Body dysphoria

Fighting

Dissociation

Panic attacks

Mutilation

Questionable dancing (?)

SUMMARY:

Zooble was making their way to the lake to go dancing with Gangle. Upon arrival, the sight of Gangle caused Zooble to reminisce about their arrival in The Amazing Digital Circus and the chaos that followed.

ANYWHERE THE WIND BLOWS

“You off to harass your crybaby with your terrible dance-moves again?”

Zooble rolled their mismatched eyes to the sound of Jax’s annoying voice. They were in a good mood; and begged whatever higher power there was for the bunny to just leave them be tonight.

“Sure am!” they spoke with an obviously false, chipper tone, deciding to give the menace a taste of his own medicine, “Are you off to make out with your plushie again?”

Zooble peeked over their shoulder to see if he had the reaction they were hoping for. Unfortunately, Jax still wore his stupid, smug grin, causing them to pause, attempting to find the words that would force a crack into the rabbit’s shield.

It wasn’t long before they spoke again, “Or would you rather be our little peeping tom – again?”

Finally, the Cheshire grin fell and Zooble had the honor of basking in Jax’s unimpressed scowl.

“That was one time!” the rabbit cried, then relaxed his stance to recollect his composure, “Ya know why I was there – and it definitely wasn’t to get an eyeful. You two are disgusting, in case ya didn’t notice. Who could get off to that?”

“You, apparently.”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED AND YOU KNOW IT!”

“Whatever… freak.” Zooble turned around and continued to make their way to the tent entrance, smiling to themself. They would never let him live that down – context be damned.

“Yeh, go drown yourself, will ya?” They vaguely heard Jax’s voice call after them.

They definately prefered the rabbit as carefree as he carried himself these days, compared to how intense he used to be when they first arrived...

They were on their way to the lake, where they knew Gangle would be.

The ribbinoid had many hidden talents; dancing happened to be one of them. She could move as if she was gliding, and she could leap like she was flying. Zooble already felt the girl entice them from a distance as they approached the bank of the lake.

Gangle was always a beauty unlike any other when she was dancing on her own. Clearly, in her own world, she practically floated with grace as her ribbons – usually coiled and shortened to form a make-shift body – stretched out and twirled, elongated, and reflecting the moonlight with every scarlet shape they drew in the air. The stars that were mirrored on the water surface made it look like the masked ribbon was dancing in the sky.

The sight gently guided Zooble’s mind back to the first time they lost their heart to their masked princess. Back then, they were so different to how they acted now. They were traumatized by the realization that they were trapped in an unknown Digital hellscape, only accompanied by a handful of other prisoners.

Stuck in an abomination of body that they never wanted.

Zooble didn’t always look the way they did before. Then again, Zooble never even looked the way they did the day before! They liked to swap, match and mix their parts, storing them safely in a box that they kept in their room.

Sometimes they could feel them clawing at the confines of said box to get to her, but it was best not to think about that.

When they first fell prey to the Digital Circus, they were what many would describe as a monster. A mess of arms, heads, eyes, and limbs; all with a mind of their own. They couldn’t find their feet – there were too many of them!

Upon arrival, Zooble stumbled around like someone who was possessed, moving more like a spider than a human. They were disoriented and desperate as they helplessly tugged and pulled on the strings of this puppet that was apparently their new body. They had no mouth and yet they heard someone screaming hysterically. It would only be in the far future, when Zooble thought back to their arrival, when they would realize that it was them who was screaming.

They just had no mouth to realize it at the time.

They screamed as they witnessed the excessive limbs and eyes that sprouted from differently-shaped structures that only vaguely felt like their torso – only that it also felt like nothing of the sort, because it wasn’t normal to have 3 torsos.

Or eyes on your knees and arms that gave you 5 different perspectives of the room all at once…

They moved like a sandstorm, forcing the circus inhabitants into a blind panic. Their monstrous form resembled an abstraction; so much so, that they heard one of them cry out in question to Caine.

“Can humans abstract upon arrival?!”

They didn’t know what it meant. They didn’t care.

All they cared about was ripping off the excessive limbs that they never knew they had. To the creature’s horror, the limbs popped off with unnatural ease and scrambled on the floor to maneuver its way back to them. It was something that would keep even the bravest of souls awake at night.

When the ragdoll of the bunch slowly approached Zooble, (as they were in the process of tearing their own limbs off) something else possessed them.

Dolls should move or talk like humans!

It didn’t help how much the doll tried to talk them down – one moment, they just stared at the doll in disbelief, and the next, they charged her like a steam train. They were so inhumanly fast, but that didn’t phase Zooble at the time. They were only focused on one thing.

The raggedy-monster in front of them.

In a flash, the doll was within reach for Zooble to tear her apart. They were beside themself as they threw themselves onto Ragatha, only to feel the wind being knocked out of them when something abruptly crashed into them from the side, causing them to stray off course and stumble to the floor.

Claws.

Claws were digging into their brightly-coloured shell and flesh. Claws swiped burning trenches of pain in their wake. They caught the blurry image of yellow eyes and a feral grin that was pulled into a snarl before they felt one of their eyes pop between its jaws.

It was a pain worthy of unlocking the gateway of the fourth horseman.

Zooble fought and scrambled for grip on the gaint, rabid hare. They were terrified and acting in blind desperation as their many limbs with multiple claws, digits and shapes grabbed and thrashed at anything that could get the purple creature off them. They were going to fight until at least one of them was lying motionlessly on the floor.

Zooble wasn’t going to die to a bunny.

Neither were prepared to be yanked from each other and held apart. Two other creatures grabbed the purple rabbit by both arms in attempt to restrain him, but even with 2 against one, the rabbit put up one hell of a fight. While the bunny only had eyes for Zooble, desperate and mindless in his pursuit to rip into them, they took the moment to spot the scarlet ribbons that were rapped around their being. They followed the trail of ribbons that kept them immobilized, only to see it led to a mask with a painted face, scrunched up in effort, yet strangely smiling while keeping them restrained.

They tugged and twisted, but the ribbons seemed to have metal in them as they were unable to tear them up. It was but a few moments that Zooble struggled before they were overcome with a wave of dread that crashed over them, leaving the poor creature to sink down into a lowered stance.

They couldn’t escape.

They were a monster.

They were going to be eaten by other monstrous creatures and there was nothing else they could do about it.

When did they start trembling so violently?

Although they awaited the onslaught of the other inhabitants to tear into them, they were only met with the tight grip of the ribbons that held them down. The events that followed, all happened in a blur. They saw the rabbit slowly grow still and lose interest in them, only to fix his gaze on the ragdoll Zooble attempted to charge before. He seemed to be talked down by what looked like an oversized chess piece with a purple robe.

In the next moment, the rabbit was free. He rushed to the doll. He looked her over with a rough hand, only to grasp her forearm and drag her off to somewhere that was out of their line of sight. He didn’t react to anything or anyone else – clearly on a mission to get away.

There was a commotion…

And suddenly, Zooble was alone, while still being restrained by the ribbon-creature with a mask. They numbly wondered why the others would leave this one alone with them.

The thoughts didn’t last too long, as they were suddenly weightless and free.

They stumbled back and curled into themself as they fixed their eyes on the mess of ribbons that shrunk and coiled into something that resembled a body while the owlish gaze of the painted mask danced over their unusual, messy form. She averted their eyes and tilted her chin down, almost in shame.

There was a beat of silence until she spoke in a pleasantly soft voice.

“Are you still hurt?”

Zooble refused to answer but enjoyed hearing the ribbonoid creature speak to them in the now quiet, empty space. Taking a moment to consider her question, they came to the sudden realization that they were mauled and bitten before. Unintentionally startling the ribbinoid, they grabbed at their body, feeling, and grasping at their form and eyes with their many limbs, only to find that the damage was suddenly gone.

As if it never happened.

The Zolo-being looked back to the masked ribbon, who was studying them closely.

“Yeah, that’s something we all were rattled by at first” She said carefully, trying to decide on what eyes she should be looking to, “We can get hurt here - and it wouldn't matter. We… we can’t die here... It’s hard to explain." the girl shook her head, then assumed a more confident tone, "But this Digital Circus is your home now, whether you like it or not. You need to understand this to survive.”

Even though the woman’s voice was working to a swell in intensity, Zooble didn’t understand anything that was said. Even though they didn’t have a face, it was evident. The girl, of course, noticed this and sighed.

“Look, if you are going to hurt my friends every time you become overwhelmed, you should just stay away.” she spoke firmly, “If you don’t, it’ll be me you’ll need to answer to.”

With that, she turned on her heels and walked without looking back.

For days - weeks, that was the last time Zooble interacted with anyone. They took Gangle’s advice, having learnt her name while creeping around the tent. They stayed away, hiding among the debris and structures that was scattered around the tent. The inhabitants were somehow assured by Gangle, who just shared that ‘the newcomer will remain out of their business.’

Zooble actually got to know bits of all of the inhabitants of the Circus, like, for example, that the doll who they launched themself at. She was called Ragatha and she was unfortunately a saint. They wanted the earth to swallow them whole with how ashamed they felt for ever thinking to harm her of all people. They also came to know that Jax was the animal that attacked them – and that he was the most unpleasant of the bunch, bullying everyone for his own personal enjoyment.

He especially mistreated Gangle… and for some reason, that just didn’t sit well with Zooble, but they were too busy staying out of sight to think about it too much or do anything about it. They couldn’t even move around properly, let alone stand up for someone they barely knew. To their surprise, it seemed like all of the inhabitants just swallowed Jax's bullying - no questions asked.

There was something seriously wrong with this place.

Other than unholy screeching when they first arrived, Zooble was stunned to silence. It felt too alien to speak with no mouth, let alone allow anyone to see what a horrifying monstrosity they’ve become. They settled on watching the cast interact and live their lives. It was slowly becoming Zooble’s new reality – living in the shadows and remaining unnoticed.

Well, almost unnoticed.

The abomination never comprehended it fully, but Gangle always knew exactly where they were. She could walk into the area and in a matter of seconds, their eyes would meet. It came to a point where Zooble didn’t care about Gangle exposing their place of hiding anymore, as there were countless times that she would spot Zooble and just nod in quiet acknowledgement. She even saved Zooble from being spotted or disturbed a handful of times.

It was like a special, unspoken agreement that only they shared.

An exchange.

Gangle intrigued Zooble to no end. She was so quiet, but always watching - always aware. Always thinking. Zooble would give anything to know what was going on in her head. She was also unique in the sense on having 2 faces! One bright and smiling, and the other muddled and tearful.

Zooble liked to see her smile, but that damn rabbit always had the nerve to break her mask...

They should've killed him when they had the chance.

It wasn’t until one fateful night when Zooble managed to evade Gangle’s eyes while exploring the grounds, only to mistakenly stumble onto the lake. Not only that, but they also unintentionally found Gangle on the bank of the lake.

Words couldn't describe the beauty that they saw.

She was dancing under the stars, while Zooble could only watch in awe. It was the most beautiful event they have ever witnessed, suffering at the rush of heat the overtook their form as the quietly looked on... trying to move closer for a better visual…

SNAP

With the snap of a twig, Gangle’s dance was over.

She quickly retracted her ribbons to form her body once again, calling out to whomever crept up on her private moment. She called Jax's name first, much to Zooble's annoyance. Gangle was flustered; eyes darting around to find the intruder, only to miss Zooble’s form that was cramped and crushed behind a bush.

They were annoyed with themself for ruining such a beautiful scene. Zooble silently hoped for the girl to brush it off and continue, longing to see the blissful look on her face as she danced once again, but to their dismay, Gangle turned to walk towards the direction of the tent, not quite smiling as brightly as before.

That couldn’t be the end of it!

“Wait!” Zooble’s voice cried out before they could think to keep quiet.

Was that what they sounded like?

Gangle visibly jumped at the new voice, before darting their eyes to the source – the bush Zooble was hiding behind. Zooble would’ve commended the girl's auditory skills in any other situation, but there was only one thought that came to mind at the time. They huffed out a breath, before speaking again, trying to look past the dissociation they felt to their voice.

“Stay.” They pleaded, while awkwardly maneuvering into the moonlight, casting a long, spider-like shadow to trail behind them, “Dance.”

Gangle’s eyes were initially wide, but eventually fell into an unreadable expression once the shock of seeing Zooble – of hearing Zooble for the first time, faded. The ribbonoid was overcome with an unexplainable joy upon hearing them speak - but they could not make a fuss! She wouldn't want the poor creature to be scared away again. She already regretted to only official conversation the had...

The silence stretched for so long, that the multi-legged creature nearly jumped when Gangle lifted her arm to hold it out to Zooble, “Dance with me.”

That was not what they expected.

Dumbfounded, Zooble looked down at their mess of a body, using the highest arm to gesture to the excessive number of limbs they had, before hesitantly speaking up. “I can’t.”

“You can if I can.” Gangle stretched and twirled her body into a little sequence, before resuming her form and looking at Zooble in a challenge, “You and I are the same, aren’t we?”

How was it possible for a woman to be so timid, and yet so steady?

“What?” Zooble frowned in confusion, blurting out before they could think, “How? You’re a bunch of ribbons with a face!”

“You’re a bunch of parts.” Gangle countered, seemingly brimming with confidence, “We are not one body, we are more, aren’t we?”

“I’m a load of junk.” Zooble tore their gaze away to attempt at hiding the blush that crept up their form, ashamed of what they resembled, “Spare parts that don’t even fit together. I don’t even have a mouth.” There was a brief pause, before they quietly added, “You make it look so beautiful…”

They never thought that they would admit it, but they were at the mercy of the truth. Gangle officially became their muse and they didn’t have a say in the matter.

Gangle surprised Zooble with her giggle, only to sigh in retort, “You’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

The statement made the misshaped being scoff, “Geez, thank you for your oh so sweet compliment. Look at me, I’m practically swooning at your praise.”

Zooble was insulted, but the genuine laugh that Gangle let out was so lovely that it almost didn’t feel like they were being gutted by a ribbon.

“Well, I don’t see what could be beautiful about a freakshow like me.” Gangle chuckled gesturing to herself to emphasize her point. Zooble couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

“You kidding?” they huffed in expiration, “Did you not see yourself just then? It’s alien, sure, but you were great! You were-”

“-unlike anything you’ve ever seen before?” The girl cut them off with a cheeky grin.

“Fine, touché.” Zooble mumbled reluctantly.

The atmosphere was lighter than before, and Gangle took it as an invitation to take a tentative step closer to her new aquantance. She was itching to know more about them; desperate to close the gap in the odd relationship they managed to build over time. Despite not directly interacting with each other, Gangle had to admit to herself that she did feel a level of attachment to the creature that she once told off.

It was a shame that things turned out the way they did.

If Gangle had known that a conversation, like this one, could’ve had her laughing in enjoyment, she would’ve tried harder a long time ago. For now, she just focused on keeping the conversation going. Her mind was racing - deducing that this creature could become a part of their group if they managed to hold out on their own for this long.

It definitely wasn't because her stomach flipped every time she felt their eyes fixate on her from their hiding-spots.

“When you, um, walk…?” Gangles spoke, hoping to keep the conversation going, “Move around-?”

“Keep going, I get it-”

Gangle huffed a laugh, before hesitantly gushing what she intended as praise, “You look like… a force. You look powerful and strong – like you’ll pummel anything in your way.”

Zooble cringed slightly, not knowing how to feel, “Thanks?”

“I wish I could be that.” Gangle breathed, before sinking into herself slightly, “One mistake – one tug, one knock – and I’m broken.”

“What are you talking about?” Zooble spoke in disbelief, “You held me down while almost being torn apart by a savage animal! You ARE a force.  You are probably even stronger than I am!”

“You don’t understand.” Gangle’s smile was bitter, causing Zooble heart sink, “I wasn’t talking about my ribbons.”

Suddenly, it clicked.

“Oh yeah… You have two faces.”

Gangle placed a ribbon on her cheek, dragging it down along the side, “This one is fragile. It needs replacement almost every other day. Even then, I can’t wear it too much. I lose myself to insanity and sadism. I become – dependent on it… Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“No.” It didn’t benefit Zooble to lie.

“That’s ok.” Gangle laughed in thought, though it seemed darker than her previous giggles, “The others do.”

Zooble took a step closer to the ribbonoid, deciding that her previous statement was something akin to a personal confession. Other than that, they wanted to see Gangle really smile again.

“Should I be worried?” they asked with genuine concern. She only shook her head, before explaining things that Zooble didn’t really understand, but indulged the girl any way they could.

“If something happens to me, it’s best that you get Jax.”

If something happens?

“Jax, the bunny guy? Isn’t he an $&%#@$?” Zooble jolted at the harsh, sudden sound of a horn drowning their voice. “Wha-?”

“Live censors – You’ll get used to it.” Gangle dismissed too easily for Zooble’s liking, “Jax - he knows his place. He’s my best friend.”

Upon Gangle’s fond smile, Zooble felt their gut – where-ever it my be – twist. A thought ghosted over their mind that Gangle may have been delusional after all.

“I don’t think you understand how badly he’s been treating you.” They spoke curtly.

“You just don't understand what it takes to stay sane here. Don't worry, you’ll come to learn how we all work together.” Gangle dismissed once again, only frustrating Zooble more, “Jax has his place. I have mine – everyone here has theirs.” She smiled up to the amalgamation, “One day, you’ll find yours.”

“Ok. Whatever.” Zooble simply said, frustrated, “We don’t have to talk about this now."

Gangle just chuckled as if she knew something that they didn’t.

They decided that it was best just to give up trying to understand the Circus and everyone’s dynamics. Zooble was cut short by Gangle holding out her ribbon for Zooble to take. They almost did it out of sheer compulsion.

“Will you have this dance with me?” the ribbonoid invited once again.

Her smile was like a drug, inhibiting Zooble from opposing her. The Zolo-being rolled their eyes to themself and took a breath to muster the will to remind the Gangle that they couldn’t dance.

For all they knew, they could be dancing themself into selling their soul or something.

...

Damn it all...

What did any of this matter anyway?

“Shut up and come here.”

With Gangle’s melodic laugh echoing in their mind, they dragged the girl to the open clearing on the bank of the lake.

It started out as a messy, clumsy jumble of limbs and ribbons, but as they relaxed and laughed into the night, their movements gained purpose and sequence. Together, they found their rhythm in the presence of no music, and their forms moved in sync.

Before long, their bodies were no longer separated.

They were one.

One in touch, mind, soul, and breath. They’re hands became their news eyes. Their bodies bloomed into voices that spoke words of unfathomable desire and yearning. They melting to each other’s caress and motions.

Two people dancing under the moonlight, living in the moment, and lost in the little world of heated passion that they have created for themselves.

They were somewhere else.

Laughing.

Yearning.

Breathless.

Both hoped for the magic to last forever...

It ended all too soon.

Zooble opened their eyes again. They were met with the harsh reality of a milky, porcelain mask smiling at them. They already longed for the woman from before; the one who they allowed to soar with the stars. That woman was everything they ever wanted in this life; maybe even in the previous life. How they would crumble for that woman to smile at them… but seeing such a petite little being smile at her as she was currently doing…

Zooble decided that it would suffice to see this smile too.

What they would give to have lips…

As if reading their mind, Zooble suddenly became aware of the intimate embrace of ribbons wrapped around them. Gangle felt so sure and steady, while they felt like they would crumble into a pile of useless parts. They couldn’t tear their gaze away from the soft, owlish stare given by the ribbinoid, suffering under the sudden burst of butterflies when they felt her new dance partner squeeze.

Butterflies.

Nothing could stop the sound that left them.

Nothing could stop Gangle's forehead from colliding with what she assumed to be Zooble's head with a soft ‘clink,’ sharing breaths they didn’t need. If they had a say in the matter, they wouldn't let her go, but that just wasn't how Zooble's mind worked. Unlike Gangle, they couldn't cling to a dream for long - they always found their feet planted on the ground of reality - this new reality.

Zooble knew this moment couldn’t last.

Based on what Gangle said before, they realized that staying sane was the key to survival in the digital world.

It was only a matter of time before another day started at the Circus. Zooble didn’t know much, but they did know that Gangle and the others had grown used to sleep. As much as they just wanted to die in her arms that night, they didn’t want to break her routine – anyone’s routine for that matter. From what Zooble could tell, it was one of the things that the members had to do to stay sane. Now, grown fond of Gangle, they wanted to see her make it through this torment of a life they were trapped in.

So, they had to let the girl go for now.

“We need to go.” Zooble’s voice was so low and hushed, they almost didn’t recognize themself.

“No, wait! We can stay a bit longer.” Gangle sounded so pretty when she was desperate. Zooble clung to the pride of causing the girl to beg for them.

So soft. So delicate.

“I’ll still be here when you wake up. We can have this again, can’t we?”

“You don’t know that!”

“Gangle.” Zooble was stern, but still gentle, “We need to stay sane. We need routine. It’s so wonderful that I found you…” they trailed one of their many hands over the ribbons wrapped around their torse, reveling in their trembling as her touch glides by, “I want to keep you. I need you sane. We need to survive this together.”

Silence.

It was a strenuous reality check, but it was necessary. They couldn’t dwell in their dreams forever.

“Ok, but we’ll meet each other here again! At least once a week! This was…” Gangle looked off to the side, seemingly bashful, “This was magical.”

“Call me a magician, then!” Zooble jested, earning a giggle from the girl as they did their best to nuzzle into Gangle's mask, “Go on to your room. I need to make sure I didn’t lose any arms while we were throwing our sick moves for the world to see.”

After a cackle, Gangle loosened her grip around Zooble to form the shape of her body once again, “I can help you look?”

“Don’t make it weird, Smiley. Go!”

Smiley.

Gangle seemed to like that one.

“I’m sorry! I’m going, I’m going!” Gangle almost sprinted off, only looking back to call back to Zooble, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

"You always do!"

Zooble was smiling to themself, but got cut short when they heard Gangle let out an ‘oof,’ followed by the sound of a thud. Spinning around to see just how the ribbonoid embarrassed herself, Zooble’s body was jolted with the shock of seeing two sadistic, yellow eyes gleam down at Gangle, who had tripped over a deliberately extended foot. Due to the padding of the grass, Gangle’s mask didn’t break – thank goodness – but the abomination’s relief was short-lived as those golden orbs slowly focused on them.

Jax.

The bunny was casually leaning against the trunk of the tree with his gaze fixed on them. This time, his ever-grinning expression was unreadable, forcing a shiver to crawl up their back.

That creep.

Gangle’s eyes shifted from Jax to Zooble, again and again, until she seemed to hiss something to Jax, soft enough for the Zolo-creature not to hear from the great distance. Jax didn’t pay her any mind, as his predatory gaze set straight onto them and them alone. Gangle gave Zooble one more worried glance, to which they just reluctantly nodded; the girl should leave them be.

It was high time for Jax to face the music, Zooble decided.

Gangle also seemed reluctant, but slowly stood up. It was then when Jax closely traced her movements with his eyes. All the while, Zooble was left with a lump in their throat as they waited for Jax to try his luck again. They were so far away, Zooble would only be able to watch him do whatever he wished before they could come to Gangle’s aid. He looked ready to rip her apart and there was nothing they could do but watch.

They watched – holding their breath, as Gangle stood up…

They watched – as Gangle turned and noticed Jax's eyes on her.

They expected the ribbonoid to fearfully back away, but Zooble's world was flipped onto it's head when they saw her stand her ground by giving Jax the most sinister smile they had ever witnessed.

Bone-chilling. Wicked.

Jax’s smile couldn’t ever match what was painted on that theatre mask. They were almost certain that Jax would retaliate any second…

But his assault never came.

 There was only a slight shift in his stance – enough to let their breathe hitch. The silence was a cacophony of chaos pounding into Zooble’s head.

For a moment there was nothing, until Gangle finally moved.

She slowly turned on her heels and walked off to the tent, as if nothing happened. It was so bizarre, they almost thought that she managed to cast a spell over Jax, who was frozen in place at the time. By the Lord, she already cast a spell over them with her charms.

Scary smile or not, that woman was irresistable!

It was only when Gangle disappeared into the tent, that Jax’s eyes were fixed onto them again.

“So, it can speak.” At least Jax’s voice rung as annoying as ever, “Nice moves you got there... What do you call the one where you two practically #@% each other in public? And by that, I mean ALL of it?”

“What do you want?” Zooble spat.

They didn’t want anything to do with him.

“I want us to come to an understanding.” Jax pushed off the tree trunk and strolled his way closer to the amalgamation, “I know you gave Raggs quite a scare before… now you’re throwing yourself at Ribbons, huh? Quite the womaniser, aren'cha?”

Zooble took note of the glimmering flash that came from Jax’s hand, letting their eyes drift to see what it could be. Dread had Zooble’s soul sink to their many feet.

He was holding a cleaver knife this entire time.

He was standing over Gangle – knife in hand - and one swipe away from tearing their muse apart.

All for a sick little laugh?!

At that moment, they were human again, forgetting about their digital immortality that they all were cursed with.

“Now you listen to me very carefully,” Zooble growled as Jax’s icy grin stalked closer, “I’ve been watching you for a long time now, and I still don’t know what your deal is. You are lower than dirt and you think you just own the tent, don’t you? Thinking no one would care about you making everyone’s lives difficult? I wasn’t even here for that long, but even I can see that Ragatha is an ANGEL, and you didn’t think twice about throwing an axe into her face the other day! It’s disgusting! You are scum! Filth! And I don’t care what your deal is with me, but if you ever hurt Gangle o-or Ragatha... or ANYONE else for that matter, I will make it my life mission to make you beg me to kill you instead of what I have planned.”

That brought Jax to a complete stop.

Not only did he stop, but his face fell to one of confusion, then dread, then confusion again. It was so uncanny, it was almost funny. Zooble found themself so dumbstruck by that reaction, that they forgot what their train of thought was leading to.

They never saw this side of the bunny before.

Moments crawled by in complete silence, with nothing but confused expressions meeting each other. It wasn’t until Zooble awkwardly cleared their throat before Jax seemed to snap out of whatever state he was in.

“Well, wouldn’t you know…” Jax mused almost to himself, casually shoving the knife into his front pocket, “You actually managed to fib me, huh? And here I thought that you’d be something I needed to take care of.”

He laughed. If Zooble didn’t know any better, she’d think that he was relieved.

“What’s happening?” Zooble asked dumbly.

“What’s happening is that you, my friend, are one of us now! Jax-approved! You killed me with your flattery - I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was that good.” Jax flashed them the smug, know-it-all smile that they still hated so much. He was probably planning to make a fool out of them, but still, they didn’t understand the sudden, genuine shift in Jax’s aura – it was suddenly almost… bearably benign.

It was whiplash!

“Again, what's happening…?”

“Sheesh, what does she see in you? You’re so slow!” Jax sighed, but continued to boredly explain, before they had the chance to retort, “I couldn’t get a read on ya before! Ya seemed mighty interested in Ribbons though – sneaking around, staring at her, and stalking her to the lake and all-”

“I wasn’t stalking her!”

“Yeh, yeh, whatever – so I just happened to swing by and… step in… if you ended up trying somethin’ with the crybaby. That’s all there is to it.”

Zooble blinked before glancing down to the cleaver knife in his pocket, slowly piecing it all together.

Did he have a heart after all?

“You were going to shank me if I messed with Gangle?” Zooble narrowed her eyes.

“Shank ya? Nah, not my style, toots.” Jax abruptly plucked the cleaver knife from his front pocket and threw it into a nearby tree without looking. If it wasn’t for the squawk, followed by the sounds of glitching, Zooble would’ve missed that Jax successfully hit a bird with a lethal blow – now pinned to the tree trunk with a knife through its chest. It disappeared soon after it started glitching, only leaving the blade in the trunk. It seemed to Zooble, now clear as ever.

Jax didn’t miss.

Feelings of intimidation aside, Zooble recalled Gangle’s words from before. She called Jax her best friend, not even hesitant to say it, despite how badly he was treating her – how badly he was treating everyone! And yet, he came out here, thinking that they were stalking Gangle… armed with a knife...

They leaned unto one hip to relax their stance, “You were looking out for her…”

Huh.

“Bah! I’m just makin’ sure you don’t steal my schtick.” Jax rolled his eyes, “I do what I need to do.”

His words made Zooble’s thoughts flip back to what Gangle said before.

'You’ll come to learn how we all work together. He has his place. I have mine – everyone here has theirs. One day, you’ll find yours.'

“What exactly is it that you do?” They asked, hoping to get some answers for once. “Gangle said something about you all ‘playing your part’ or whatever…”

“Yeah, no, not having this discussion with ya, sorry bub.” Jax started walking off in the direction of the tent, seemingly done with the conversation. Zooble’s eye twitched.

“What do you mean?!”

“Not what I do, ugly. I just play my part.” Jax smile creeps up to a taunting grin, “Go talk to Raggs. Explainin’ these things to new suckers is her part.”

“But what’s your part?” Zooble raised their voice not only in frustration, but also because Jax was making greater distance between them as he continued walking.

“This is my part!”

“What do you mean ‘this is?’ What’s ‘this?’”

“Ask Raggs~!”

“And what do I do? What's my part!?”

“Bye~!”

“Mother@$@#%!!”

Some fanart of this fic: (CLICK HERE TO SEE)

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

Additional Author's note: If you read the whole thing with all of the mistakes I didn't notice to fix, you are a legend!

[amphiptere-art]

Behold! The magnificent! The skilled!

The wonderful Saros Cog!

I don't care if I made him for my own entertainment. It's been a long time since I've even wanted to make another AU. I've been going back to old ones as of recent. But this one's nice and brand new. And it's got my ADHD brain in a chokehold.

Anyways. I've been talking about him off topic. But this is Saros Cog. His name is a bit random, and even his existence. Coming out of the bored scrambling of a pencil. I just had this vague illustration of this steampunk-esque Eclipse staring out with this evil eye.

Except that saros isn't evil. In fact he's quite the opposite. Is the main personality trait is untrusting. Put the more I think about the little guy, The more interesting traits he gets. One of these traits being his crazed personality. I have basically started to embody him as some lonely fool. Again matching that gremlin Moon, with crazed Sun. Untrusting to most people in strangers. Gaming that stereotypical hostile sun and moon. But otherwise he's a rambling, kind fella.

Imagine ADHD person rambling about their favorite topic, and yet gives you the glare if you dare say anything bad about it. I think it's a funny personality. And like many other characters of mine, fills a specific niche of me.

Sure he's a bit crazy because he's been left alone in an abandoned town for a long long time. A bit more crazy than his normal. Basically speaking and shouts and tad more sun physical, and Moon gremlin. His little mouse companion that he made when he was a bit more stable. Is the only one trying to rope him in. Also just keep him sane.

Which by the way. His little mouse buddy needs a name. Apparently his nickname in my brain is wire. And that's just because he's sort of based on ... Dear God I can't remember. Some sort of mouse YN/DCA story. But he specifically has like this wire tail ears for long range communication. Little liar has been sending out signals to anyone nearby to come over. Which often results in a chaotic meeting and said visitor running off fairly quickly.

Maybe I'll open and ask for him... Anyone want that?

Anyways. I love this character. And I love this small story I have made around him. Especially his love life with Roxy. Which will probably also need their own steampunk inspired name. But for now she shall go by bone jaw. Since she looks like this. With her robotic mount being decorated by Saros.

Anyways. I love the small love life I put between these characters. Basically despite saros being an untrusted person. Roxy was basically able to just not care enough. Intruding into a space, but figuring out he's a pretty good mechanic and good guy. Saros became her greatest companion. And over time they grew away silly love even if it wasn't official.

But when the entire community decided to move because resources were getting low. Saros being untrusting and also fairly fragile given that he's broken quite a bit. His smaller body means that his engine. (The box on his back.) Has to be external and really exposed. He was just not willing to take the danger with no promise of safety by the end. Until the two were separated just by that fact. As Roxanne wasn't quite sure if she was dedicated or not. Boy did she regret it when they did find a settlement.

Anyways. I should probably stop rambling. I love this character.