#yeah this art is a bit old because this and the next few art pieces were finished ages ago

[solxamber]

Coughing up Love - Idia Shroud x reader

You don't think much of it when Idia starts acting weird because let's be real, that seems to be his default around you. Wait are those flowers he's coughing up?

There’s something odd about Idia lately. He’s acting weird—well, weirder than usual, and that’s saying a lot for someone who’s mastered the art of avoiding people for weeks at a time. It’s subtle at first. His normally snarky, rapid-fire commentary seems more hesitant, his usual screen-lit complexion a bit paler, and he’s excusing himself mid-game way more often than usual.

And, most bizarre of all, every time you hang out, he always seems to keep something in his mouth. Gum, candy, or, more suspiciously, a fist pressed against his lips like he’s hiding something. You know Idia— he's socially awkward, sure, but when it’s just the two of you gaming or chatting, he’s rarely this strange.

Today, the two of you are halfway through an intense raid when he suddenly stands up, his chair creaking violently as he jerks upward.

“Pause! Time out, emergency bathroom break,” he blurts out, yanking his headset off with lightning speed and scrambling for the door.

You frown, watching his character get obliterated on screen. “Dude, you could’ve at least—”

“BRB!” he shouts, voice trailing off as he disappears into the hall. He’s gone in a flash, leaving you blinking at the door, wondering what just happened.

But that’s not the first time, nor will it be the last. Over the next few days, Idia pulls more disappearing acts than a badly programmed NPC. Mid-conversation? Poof, gone. Halfway through a snack? Vanished.

It takes a while, but eventually, the pieces staet to click together. You catch him out of the corner of your eye, face flushed pink, a hand pressed firmly to his mouth as he stifles a coughing fit during one of your game nights. At first, you’re concerned—it’s not like him to get sick, not seriously anyway. You suggest getting him medicine or a trip to the infirmary, but Idia adamantly waves it off.

“I-it’s nothing!” he stammers, trying to hold it together while choking down the coughs. “Just, uh, allergies! Y’know, dust and stuff. Old consoles… gotta, uh, clean them more…”

Suspicious. Old consoles? In Ignihyde? Yeah, right. You narrow your eyes, but drop the subject—at least for now. It’s not until later, when you see something float from his mouth—something blue and oddly petal-like—that you realize what’s happening.

You’ve heard of Hanahaki before. It’s practically a meme among some circles—an outdated trope, really. People coughing up flowers because of unrequited love? What is this, a 2000s anime fanfic? But now, watching a crumpled blue petal fall to the floor in slow motion, you realize that your very own shut-in gamer might be the rare exception to the rule.

The worst part? He’s really, really bad at hiding it.

A few days later, you invite him to hang out at Ramshackle, hoping the quiet environment will calm whatever’s been causing his weird behavior. Things seem fine at first—until you notice him coughing into his sleeve again.

This time, he has a backup plan.

“Are you okay?” you ask, brow raised as he muffles yet another cough.

“Yeah, totally! Just, um…” He rifles through his bag and pulls out a—oh dear sevens, is that a mask?

You can’t help it—you burst out laughing. “You’re… you’re seriously wearing a mask now?”

“It’s for—” He coughs violently again, eyes darting around as if looking for an escape. “For, uh, germs! You know, flu season! Gotta… gotta be prepared…”

You squint at him. “We’re indoors. And it’s summer.”

“Exactly!” he says, as if that makes sense. “The germs are, like, in the air! Sneaky buggers!”

The mask stays on for the rest of the evening, and every time you glance at him, you see his eyes flick away like he’s hiding something worse than a little cough.

His next attempt is, frankly, genius in its stupidity. You’re in his dorm, playing a co-op game, when the inevitable happens: he starts hacking up petals. At first, he plays it off with a hurried gulp of water, but soon the coughing becomes too much. With a gasp, he fumbles for something on his desk—a box of tissues? No, it’s a full-on dust mask this time.

“Idia, what the fu—”

“Pro-gamer tip,” he interrupts, voice muffled behind the mask. “Always be prepared for, uh… dust allergies! It’s, uh, a top-tier strat. Totally not s-suspicious.”

Dust? When he has Ortho making sure that he doesn’t perish? You stare, absolutely dumbfounded. “I’m starting to think you’re more allergic to honesty than dust.”

He laughs—well, tries to. It comes out as a garbled mix of coughing and awkward chuckles. “W-what are you talking about? I’m fine! Really!”

“Fine?” You raise an eyebrow, watching as more petals spill out of his sleeve. “You’re literally falling apart, dude.”

At this, his face burns bright pink, and his hair flares up, turning from it's usual blue to a mortified rosy hue. “N-no I’m not!” he protests weakly. “J-just a little springtime cold, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure,” you say, crossing your arms. “Because spring colds definitely involve coughing up whole bouquets.”

There’s a brief pause as you both stare at the mess of petals on the floor. Idia winces, clearly defeated, and slumps back into his chair.

“...Crap.”

The look of his face tells you to let it go and you do, believing that it'll probably resolve itself. You weren't from this world, maybe it was common here and you were the one that's overreacting?

After another week of weird excuses, mask-related antics, and watching him suffer through increasingly ridiculous attempts to hide his Hanahaki, you’ve had enough. You’re going to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

You catch him mid-cough during one of his solo raids, bursting into his room without warning. Idia practically jumps out of his seat, slamming the pause button and whirling around with wide eyes.

“W-what are you doing here!?” he yelps, trying (and failing) to hide the petals littering his desk. “I—uh—this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Really? Because it looks like you’ve been coughing up whole flowers,” you say, deadpan, as you point to the pile of blue petals strewn across his keyboard. “Seriously, Idia. What’s going on?”

He freezes. For a moment, the room is deadly silent—except for the faint sound of digital gunfire in the background. His face, already pale, turns ghostly white, and his flames flicker pink in embarrassment.

“I…” He stammers, looking everywhere but at you. “I didn’t… It’s not…”

You cross your arms, raising an eyebrow. “Spit it out. Or should I say, ‘cough it out?’”

It’s the worst joke you’ve ever made, and yet, somehow, it breaks the tension. Idia lets out a wheezing, awkward laugh, though it quickly dissolves into another coughing fit. This time, he doesn’t even try to hide it—just pulls his knees up to his chest and buries his face in his arms, defeated.

“I’m such a loser,” he mumbles, voice muffled. “I thought maybe… maybe if I ignored it, it’d just go away. Y’know, like a glitch or something.”

Your heart clenches at the sight of him, all curled up and vulnerable. It’s so unlike the cocky, trash-talking gamer you’ve come to know. You crouch down beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Idia,” you say softly, “you’re not a loser.”

He peeks out from behind his arms, eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Y-yeah, right. I’m just the guy who gets Hanahaki because I can’t even confess like a normal person.”

You blink. “Wait—Hanahaki? Like actually?”

You did not expect that. You expected it to be some weird disease that was native to twisted wonderland and not actually Hanahaki of all things.

Idia winces, his hair turning a bright shade of pink as he realizes what he’s just admitted. He looks away, fiddling nervously with the edge of his sleeve. “...Yeah. It’s stupid, I know.”

For a moment, you’re speechless. All those strange behaviors, the coughing, the flowers—it all makes sense now. He’s got Hanahaki, and he’s been trying to hide it because…

“Idia…” you whisper, heart pounding. “You love me?”

He squeezes his eyes shut, his whole body trembling. “I-I mean, i-it’s not like I expect you to feel the same! I know I’m not, like, Vil-level handsome or anything. I just… didn’t want to ruin things.”

You feel a warmth spreading through your chest, and before you can stop yourself, you lean in, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Idia goes completely still. His hair flares up, a brilliant pink, as he slowly opens his eyes in disbelief.

“Y-you…” he stammers, voice barely a whisper.

You smile softly. “I love you too, you dork.”

For a second, he just stares at you, as if he can’t quite process what you’ve said. Then, with a choked sob, he flings himself into your arms, burying his face in your shoulder as the last of the petals fall away.

“I’m such an idiot,” he mutters, but there’s a hint of relief in his voice. His arms tighten around you, and you can feel the rapid thumping of his heart against your chest.

"You’re not an idiot," you murmur, gently running your fingers through his hair. The flames have cooled down to a soft, warm pink, flickering faintly in the dim light of the room. "And you don’t need to be Vil-level handsome. You’re just you, and that’s more than enough."

Idia snorts, though it’s more out of disbelief than amusement. "Yeah, right. I’m just the weirdo who plays video games all day and coughs up flowers. Super attractive."

You pull back slightly, just enough to look him in the eyes. "Hey, I don’t care about that. Do you think I’d be hanging out with you all the time if I didn’t like you? I’m here because I care about you, Idia."

For a moment, Idia just stares at you, his mouth slightly open like he’s trying to come up with some kind of retort, but nothing comes out. He looks… overwhelmed, his usual sarcastic defense mechanisms short-circuiting under the weight of your words. His eyes dart away, then back to you, and finally, with a shaky breath, he mutters, "I don’t get it… Why me?"

You smile, brushing a stray petal from his hair. "Because you’re kind, even if you don’t realize it. You’re funny, you make me laugh all the time—even when you’re not trying. And you’re smart, way smarter than you give yourself credit for. I like being with you, Idia. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t."

His face flushes a deeper pink, his flames flickering erratically as he shifts nervously in your arms. "I-I… I don’t know what to say…" he stammers, his voice cracking slightly. "I thought for sure you’d think I was a weirdo or something."

You chuckle softly, resting your forehead against his. "Well, you’re my weirdo, then."

That earns a shaky laugh from him, though it quickly turns into another coughing fit. You gently rub his back as he coughs, but this time, instead of petals, there’s just the sound of his breath gradually evening out. He looks at you, wide-eyed, as if expecting to see more flowers—more proof of his self-doubt.

But the petals are gone. The weight that’s been crushing his chest, suffocating him with every breath, has finally lifted.

Idia stares at you for a long moment, his expression softening as the reality of the situation settles in. His arms loosen around you, but he doesn’t pull away—he stays close, resting his head on your shoulder with a sigh that’s both relieved and exhausted.

"Does this mean…" He hesitates, his voice barely above a whisper. "Does this mean we’re… together now?"

You grin, tilting his chin up so he has no choice but to meet your gaze. "If you want us to be."

Idia’s face erupts into a brilliant shade of pink, and for a moment, you think his face might actually catch fire. He quickly looks away, fiddling nervously with the hem of his shirt, but there’s a small, shy smile playing on his lips.

"I-I guess that’d be… kinda nice," he mumbles, almost inaudible.

You laugh softly, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead. "It’s more than nice, Idia. It’s perfect."

For the first time since you’ve known him, Idia doesn’t argue. He doesn’t self-deprecate or brush off your words with sarcasm. Instead, he lets out a soft, content sigh, resting his head against you again, his flames warm and steady.

"Yeah," he whispers, his voice filled with quiet relief. "I think it is."

And for once, Idia Shroud—the boy who always felt like he didn’t deserve happiness—finally lets himself believe it.

You stay like that for a while, curled up together in the quiet of his room, the low hum of his gaming console filling the background. It’s peaceful in a way you never expected with Idia, who’s usually so frantic and anxious. But now, with the weight of unspoken feelings finally lifted, he’s calm. Happy, even.

After a long moment, he pulls back slightly, glancing at the screen. "Uh… w-we left the raid halfway through," he mumbles, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "My bad. We probably wiped the whole party by now."

You laugh, ruffling his hair. "I think they’ll survive without us for a bit. But we can jump back in if you’re up for it."

Idia hesitates for a second, then shakes his head. "Nah… I’d rather just… stay here. With you."

The admission is so soft, so vulnerable, that it makes your heart ache in the best possible way. You smile, pulling him close again, and this time, he doesn’t flinch or make any excuses. He just rests his head on your shoulder, his pink flames flickering contentedly.

Maybe it’s not the typical "fairy tale" kind of love. It’s awkward and a little messy, filled with gaming mishaps and coughing up flowers. But it’s real. And for Idia, that’s more than enough.

he's reminds me of a pathetic wet cat left in the rain but god do I love him

Masterlist

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

The Missing Piece

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~800

Warnings: fluff

Summary: Spencer is always leaving little gifts for you, mostly flowers that you use to brighten your apartment. There is always one flower missing, and you finally find out the reason why.

Square Filled: gift for @goodthingshappenbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

This is one of those rare days when you wake up before your alarm. You had gone to bed early last night since Spencer went to bed early. He had a tough day at work, and since you don’t like to be up by yourself when someone is sleeping, you went to bed with him. Spencer is such a light sleeper that you’re afraid of making noise that will wake him. He barely gets enough sleep as it is.

You roll over in bed and bury your face in Spencer’s pillow. His side of the bed is cold since he left it to go to work a few hours ago. The blackout curtains do a really good job of keeping the light out so you don’t know if it’s barely sunrise or if the sun has been up for hours.

You get out of bed and peel the curtains back slowly to let in enough light for your eyes to adjust. You continue until the curtains are all the way open and the entire room is bright. Something Spencer loves doing is leaving little gifts for you like flowers or candy or your favorite coffee. This time, it’s a beautiful bouquet of flowers that’s sitting on the bedside table next to your phone. The bouquet consists of roses, sunflowers, and lilies that he most likely put together from the local flower shop down the street.

I hope these brighten your day. I love you so much - Spencer

You clutch the note in your hand with a smile and walk over to the closet. There is a box of every single letter Spencer has written you. You don’t throw anything out because you love keeping these little tokens of your relationship. The only thing you throw out that he has given you are the flowers.

You take the bouquet and walk to the kitchen to separate them into smaller bouquets that you can put all over the house. There are six spots where you put flowers to give the rooms a bit of color, so you remove the old ones and put the new ones in. However, there is always just one left over because Spencer never gives you a full bouquet. He always gives you eleven flowers instead of twelve.

You’re not sure why but you never ask him. You’re just grateful to get flowers.

You and Spencer always schedule lunch together unless he’s on an active case, and the B Team is in the field for this week. To pass the time, you get started on your morning chores. You want Spencer to come home to a clean house. He works hard so that you don’t have to. It’s not that you’re incapable of getting a job or unable to hold one down, you just love being a stay-at-home wife.

It gives you the opportunity to work on your art. You love sewing, embroidering, and knitting anything you can get your hands on. You have your own Etsy shop that you make things for, and a lot of people on Facebook Marketplace want to buy your items. By not having a normal nine-to-five job, it gives you plenty of time to work on your craft. You have a bunch of commissions to work on so after your morning chores, you get to work on one of them. Once you get in the zone, it’s easy to make two hours feel like ten minutes.

Around lunchtime, you set your work aside and get ready in something light and flowing. It’s a nice day outside and you don’t want to be stuck wearing jeans and a T-shirt. You take public transportation to work since Spencer took the car this morning, and you reach the BAU in thirty minutes. The receptionist knows you by heart so she checks you in with a visitor badge before you go to the elevator.

JJ and Derek pass by with files in their hands when you enter the bullpen, and they both smile at you.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I’m taking Spencer to lunch. Do you know where he is?”

“Yeah, he’s in Hotch’s office. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

They walk off and you approach his desk. Everything is neat and in order, not to your surprise. You sit down and twirl around before spotting a single rose on his desk. It’s the same color rose as the one that was in the bouquet he gave you this morning.

“Hey, I’m ready to go.”

“Is that the missing flower from my bouquet this morning? Which, I loved by the way. Thank you.”

“Yeah, I keep one on my desk so I know when it’s time to get you a new bouquet.” The feeling of love floods your body at the simple gesture. He wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you close. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m always ready,” you grin.

He kisses the top of your head and leads you out of the BAU. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do for this man and clearly, he feels the same.

x

Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[vivwritesfics]

Ink

Monaco Tattoo Parlour might be one of the most famous studios in the world. Famed for its incredible work and incredibly attractive artist. Appointment are booked a year in advance. But Charles Leclerc is worth it

Viv's AUgust Event

(Banner by @nurse-floyd )

Sucking in a breath, she walked into the Monaco Tattoo Parlour. A little studio in Italy. There was only one artist, one chair in the studio. The artist was world renowned; people travelled from all over to have him ink their skin.

His art decorated the walls. God, he was talented, but she knew that already. From all of the hours spent scrolling through his social media as she waited to get an appointment with him.

"Can I help you?" Asked the receptionist. His baby brother, she knew from the shops social media. His accent wasn't Italian, but that was because they'd moved over here from Monaco.

Her smile was polite, a little nervous as she approached the front desk. "I've got an appointment with Charles," she said and gave him her name.

He searched through his laptop for a moment before pulling a few bits of paper from the desk drawers. "Fill these out and Charles will be right over," he said and gestured to the seating area.

She sat down and began filling out the paper. As she did, she looked at the flash on the walls. It was all beautiful, all done by Charles Leclerc.

She handed the filled out paperwork back to his brother and sat back in her seat. She'd get any number of these tattoos on her body. Fifteen minutes later, Charles Leclerc called her over to his chair.

He was perfectly polite as he showed her the designs. She told him where she wanted the delicate, flowery pattern and he placed the stencil against his skin. It took a couple of tries before the placement was exactly where she wanted it.

Charles laid her on her side. He pulled on his clear gloves and began tattooing.

He worked mostly in silence, humming to himself. She was fully aware of the nimble fingers working on inking her skin, at the beautiful way he moved.

He was beautiful. Too beautiful to be a tattoo artist. He could have been a model, but here he was, giving the world his art. "Your flash is gorgeous," she said through shuddering breaths as he tattooed over her ribs. It hurt, but it didn't exactly feel bad.

"Thank you," he said, his concentration still on the tattoo. It was turning out beautiful, just as all of his work did. "Is this your first?"

"Yeah," she answered and Charles let out a whistle.

"This is interesting placement for a first tattoo," he said through a chuckle.

She tried to laugh along with him. "Next one will be a piece of cake, right?" She asked and he let out another chuckle. It was a melodic sound, one that filled the room, make it seem lighter, somehow.

There was a reason the shop had such good reviews.

When she asked for a break, for some water, Charles happily gave it to her. He slightly rolled up his sleeve, revealing half of the tattoos snaking up his arms. "Who did your tattoos?" She found herself asking as she laid back down.

After stalking his Instagram for the last few months, there weren't many questions she had. She knew everything she needed, everything but this.

There was a beat of silence, a long pause in which the tattoo gun came to life. For a moment she was worried, afraid that she had offended him. But then he spoke. "An old friend," he answered, sighing through his nostrils. "An old friend did them for me."

"Must be nice," she mumbled. She tried to keep her body still, to not jolt when the machine touched her skin. "Having somebody you trust permanently alter your skin."

It was over much quicker than she wanted it to be. The tattoo process was enjoyable, as was being around Charles. He placed the second skin on the flowers dancing down her rib cage and walked with her over to Arthur's desk.

Charles effectively pushed his little brother out of the way. He told her the price and held out the card reader for her to pay.

"What do you say, have I got a customer for life?" He asked, wearing a cheeky smile as she pressed the buttons on the card reader.

A slight laugh left her lips. "What does that include? Coming back to Italy every time I want a tattoo?" She asked as she pulled her card from the machine and placed it back in her purse.

He couldn't hide his grin as he placed the card machine down and grabbed a piece of paper with care instructions on it. The fact that he had one printed up in her language showed just how diverse his clientele was.

"Trust me, chérie, I'm worth it," he said as she shoved the aftercare sheet into her bag.

Her smile was shy, almost bashful as she tried to meet the eye of the handsome tattoo artist. "Trust me, Charles," she mimicked, nails drumming against the reception desk. "I know."

[mrsshabana]

𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐆𝐲𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaro x female!reader, fluff, school au ꒦꒷‧₊ Note 1k words. Got this idea from this amazing art piece I reblogged earlier today ♡

You don't belong here. Girls like you would never be caught dead in detention. With your cute pleated skirt, pastel colored cardigan, and animal plush keychains that hang from your backpack.

Now a guy like him, this is where he finds himself most afternoons. At this point Gyutaro is in detention more often than he's in class. Probably the most intimidating guy in school. If his towering height and sour attitude aren't enough to deter you, then his attire will do the trick. Always decked out in heavy punk fashion. He wears combat boots, ripped jeans, leather jackets, spiked bracelets, and not to mention copious amounts of piercings.

It's almost comical seeing the contrast as you sit next to him in detention.

The sweet scent wafting from you immediately hits his nostrils. Cupcakes...? he thinks to himself.

With a sigh Gyutaro leans back in his seat, crossing his arms and stretching out his long legs. He looks at you from the corner of his eye, watching curiously as you fold your arms and lay your head down.

He looks around the room, noticing the teacher sitting at a desk in the front of the classroom. This teacher always supervises the students in detention, and without fail, he falls asleep after ten minutes or so. Gyutaro can never seem to remember the teacher's name. He only remembers him because of the giant lump he has on his forehead.

Once the teacher falls asleep, Gyutaro reaches over to his backpack and pulls out a crumpled piece of paper and a half-broken pencil.

"Pst," you hear a raspy voice whisper as someone nudges your arm. You slowly open your eyes to see a large hand with black painted nails holding a small piece of paper.

"Hm...?" you hum as you take the note.

The tall boy dressed in black who sits beside you quirks a pierced brow, waiting for you to open it.

Unfolding the small piece of paper you see something scrawled in messy handwriting, "What u do 2 get stuck in here?"

A small smile tugs at the corner of your lips, detention suddenly got a bit more exciting.

You pull out a Hello Kitty mechanical pencil and write, "I refused to change my skirt."

Somewhat ashamed, you hand the note back over to the boy. He quickly opens it and frowns upon reading the sentence inside. Unashamed, he immediately looks down at your skirt.

"Looks fine 2 me," he writes back.

"They said it was too short and a distraction," you blush as you admit this to him. It took a lot of courage for you to wear this skirt. Expressing yourself through your clothes has always been something you were afraid to do, always worried that people may judge you or give you disgusted looks. And when you finally got the courage to wear something you actually liked, you get shamed for it.

He scoffs and scribbles back, "They tripping. Its not 2 short. Its cute. Wear whtvr the fuck u want."

"Thanks. I think I will :3" his comment gives you some of that confidence back. He's right, you shouldn't feel ashamed about what you choose to wear and how you choose to express yourself. Besides, look at him. His outfit is probably breaking a few rules and he doesn't seem to care at all.

"Its badass u stood up for yourself cupcake."

You smile when you receive the note and read the nickname he gave you, "Cupcake?"

"Yeah. U smell like em." He scribbles a drawing of a cupcake below his sentence.

"Thanks!" you draw a little cat eating the cupcake.

In return, Gyutaro draws a spikey collar around the cat's neck and gives it a little mohawk. Seeing the cute drawing you can't help but giggle.

You briefly make eye contact, and Gyutaro has a shy smile on his face.

"Wanna get outta here?" he leans over and whispers to you, "Old man's asleep, he won't notice."

Looking over at the teacher you see him slumped over the desk, a dribble of drool dripping down his lip.

"Won't we get in trouble?" you whisper, worried about getting in even more trouble.

"Who cares, you're a bad kid now." With a smirk, Gyutaro quietly slings his backpack over his shoulder and stands to leave. When he sees you hesitate to follow him, he takes your backpack and walks out the door.

"Hey!" You whisper, internally panicking as you watch him casually leave the room with your belongings. You have no choice but to follow him now.

Even though your inner voice is telling you not to, you slip out of your seat and tip-toe toward the door. Outside you see Gyutaro leaning against the wall with your backpack in hand.

"I can't believe you did that!" you pout with a flustered face as you snatch your backpack from him.

He chuckles, "Tsk I did you a favor. Besides, it feels good right?"

"What?"

"To break the rules," he smirks, looking down at you.

You blush and look away, trying to hide your flustered expression, "kinda..."

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he begins to walk down the hall knowing that you'll follow him without asking. And of course, you do just that.

"So, you got a name or you just want me to keep callin' you cupcake? I'm gonna keep sayin' it either way though," he chuckles.

"My name is Y/N... but I don't mind if you call me cupcake I guess," you mumble that last part under your breath, "What's your name by the way?"

"Gyutaro," he says. The piercings under his lip contort as he smiles.

"Well," you look up at him, "I hope we get detention together again someday."

"Oh we will, cuz I'm gonna teach you to rebel just like me!"

[vanossfan10]

RWBY: Jaune Arc Mandalorian AU: Jaune’s Starfighter

**During the last Two Years at Beacon, Jaune and his friends all got along he managed to have a very loving relationship with Yang and the two Teams became power houses after their first year, but on one night they played Truth or Dare Jaune Revealed in a Truth he has a Starfighter to help him go earn some cash from bounties in space given to him by his Bounty Hunter Mentor; Boba Fett.**

(Night of the ToD game night)

Ruby: BULLSHIT! I call BULL!! SHIT!!

Yang: Ruby! Language! I’m sure Jaune is just joking

Jaune: who said I was?

Yang:…huh?!….

Teams RWBY & (J)NPR: ………EEEEHHHH!?!?!……

They all yelled in shock and saw that he wasn’t joking at all.

**The very next morning he took Team RWBY and his own team down to Ozpin private landing bay for Beacon where bullhead ships were kept, they all soon saw a ship that was covered in a large grey tarp and once they walked over to it Jaune grabbed the tarp and revealed his Starfighter.**

Ruby:…oh wow…(eyes shine and she begins to drool)…

Weiss: mhm this is quite a spectacle~

Blake: I mean I’ve read these in science fiction books but never thought I’d see one in person

Yang: that’s fucking hot babe~💕

Pyrrha: Jaune you always continue to surprise us

Nora: I WANNA RIDE IT! I WANNA RIDE IT! I WANNA RIDE IT! AND I WANNA BLOW STUFF UP WITH IT!!!

Ren: Nora No! (He said trying to hold her back)

Nora: NORA YES!!

Jaune: I’ll think about it Nora, anyway this is my Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor, years ago it was originally made for a old warrior race of people known as Jedi but they all went extinct and are only a few left in the Galaxy, as from what my mentor told me when he got this for me

Blake: your mentor got you this?

Jaune: yeah it was a gift after I completed my training, but despite it all I wear his family crest on it to show my thanks to him and to honor my mentor

**Suddenly Weiss interrupted**

Weiss: if that’s so, what’s this art piece supposed to indicate mhm~

**she said in a teasing tone as they all looked at the side of Jaune’s Starfighter wing and saw a pin up spray paint art piece of Yang**

**everyone looked at the pin up with blushes, some covered their mouths and some looked at Jaune with a cheeky smirk, but Yang mostly was looking at it in embarrassment but also a little bit happy on the inside seeing Jaune still thinking of her when he’s away**

Yang: J-Jaune WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!

Jaune: now Yang come on I can explain

Nora: so fearless leader got a sexy mascot to show off to the galaxy huh

Jaune: NORA!

Pyrrha: my goodness Jaune I didn’t think you’d do that and by yangs reaction you didn’t even get her permission, how deviant of you

Jaune: Pyrrha it’s not what y-

Yang: how could you Jaune! (She said blushing harder)

Jaune: Yang please it is just a pi

Yang: how could you get my Signature Wrong!!

RWB(Y) & JNPR:…….Huh???

**they all said in confusion**

Yang: if you wanted me to be your pin up you should have had me sign it!

Jaune:…..umm…ok I’m sorry?….I guess?

Yang: good but I’ll forgive you under one condition

Jaune: what?

Yang: if you take me for a ride in it first before everyone else

**she said tapping her fingers together and making a pouty face along while doing it**

Jaune: (Giggles) sure thing babe

**he said as he pulls her in for a kiss and her soon accepted his apology from the kiss and his promise**

Nora: can I blow up a Cabbage Stand with it now!

Ren: why a Cabbage Stand?!

Blake: you really wanna ask her that question Ren?

Nora: Well my beautiful Ren Ren, it’s because in every universe there is a Cabbage man who yells “No! My Cabbages!!” It’s a universal thing Ren Ren~💕

Ren: What?

Nora: I WANNA BLOW SHIT UP!!

Ruby: ME TOO!! I WANNA BLOW SHIT UP!!

Ren: NORA NO!!!

Yang: RUBY LANGUAGE!!

Fin

[bee-saucee]

Date at the Museum | Vashwood Ficlet

pairing: vashwood

cw: mentions of religion/Catholicism

word count: 460

summary: Vash and Wolfwood go out on a date to a museum. Wolfwood pines.

a/n/update: I haven’t posted in ages...my apologies. Long story short, I got very burnt out on shinkami, fell terribly in love with vashwood, and started writing again because of them! I’m not ready to fully say goodbye to shinkami quite yet but I will be focusing on Trigun moving forward! I forgot how difficult it is to write when you are new to a fandom, though, as I’ve been writing and reading shinkami for years!

I’m trying to write shorter, low stakes vashwood pieces and do character studies in preparation for a multichapter fic I have planned, but please take my humble offering as I try to dip my toes into a new fandom and understand these guys from a writing perspective! I wrote this a few weeks ago and there are already things I would characterize differently but I'm moving forward!

“Why do they all look like that? These are the ugliest babies I’ve seen in my life,” Nick mumbles under his breath.

When they decided to take a quick look at the medieval art, Nick can’t say he was expecting to be surrounded by 60 year old men’s heads seemingly grafted onto a baby’s chubby and delicately small limbs. It was terrifying, actually but somehow endearing.

“It’s supposed to be Jesus or something, Nick. You just called Jesus ugly,” Vash hisses from the corner of his mouth.

“I’d do it again. He’s looking rough in these.”

Vash elbows him in the side and forces something between a cough and a laugh from Nick’s chest. Even Vash’s bony elbow is enough to soothe the anxious rumble that had grown in Nick’s chest since they walked into the museum with its marble and arches and art he doesn’t understand.

“Why am I being a better Catholic than you and I’m not even Catholic?”

“‘Cus I talk to the big man enough to be honest and tell him people need to paint him better.”

“Honesty is the best policy.”

“Exactly.”

“Being honest, Nicholas…I’d look at man-babies with you any day if it means I get to spend more time with you,” Vash coos with an endearingly corny batting of his lashes.

And, yeah, Nick would too. It’s why he sought out two-day passes to see every exhibit when he overheard a customer talking about the array of fossils, art, and architectural remains at the museum downtown.

Nick takes in a deep breath. He wants to tell Vash he was most excited to look at the landscape paintings with him–that he’s looked forward to shuffling through the museum with their shoulders brushing for weeks. He wants to spoil that the cafe has Boston cream donuts and a chocolate chip muffin he plans to split. But it feels like too much. It feels like he’d be crossing a line to show Vash just how badly he wants him.

“C’mon I thought I saw paintings of trees in the next room over.”

“Oh, I love trees. Let’s go,” Vash says tugging Nick in the wrong direction.

Nick grabs Vash’s shoulders and steers him toward the right gallery. The warmth radiating from his ruby red coat both settles and spikes the anxiety coursing through his veins.

“I know, Blondie.”

Maybe he could show Vash he cares by spending extra time gazing at the massive painting of redwoods he saw they’re displaying on the website.

“We should try to guess the plant varieties right,” Vash suggests.

“You can guess the varieties and I can let you know if you’re right,” Nick counters.

“Okay, yeah that’s a bit more fair.”

If only falling for Vash was just as fair.

Thanks for reading! check out my masterlist for more.

[mytardisisparked]

Cryptid Hunting for Beginners

Mulder takes Emily out to the woods for a fun afternoon.

(Part of the Adoption AU, wherein Mulder and Scully have adopted both Emily Sim and Gibson Praise. Because they all deserve a loving family.)

For EXCELLENT art associated with this story, please go see @singeart's lovely piece here!

Read on AO3.

---

In some unnamed woods in Virginia, dappled light broke through the trees, falling on two lumps of feathery greens. The larger of the two was doing its best to quiet the smaller lump, which was giggling relentlessly as they moved along the forest floor. 

“Look!” the smaller lump said in a voice that might have been intended as a whisper, but wasn’t. “There’s a tuft of fur on that tree!”

“Very good,” the larger lump said in a quieter voice, “now, looking at the fur closely, what direction was the creature headed in?”

The lumps shuffled up to the tree and looked at the strands of fiber. If anyone else had looked at it, they would have realized fairly quickly that the “fur” were nylon strands taken from a torn bit of yarn, placed purposefully (and a bit obviously). In the imaginations of the two lumps, however, this was evidence of the bigfoot they had been tracking for the entire afternoon.

Emily tilted her ghillie-suit-covered head as she studied the strands. “Um, that way?” She pointed to the left.

“Why do you say that?” Mulder asked as he nodded.

“The fibers are bent to the left, like they were pulled that way.”

“Very good.” Even behind his mask, the smile on Mulder’s face was clear in his voice. He patted Emily on the back. “Let's head that way then, huh?”

They walked for a bit, Emily pointing out birds and squirrels as they went. Mulder would tell her as they got closer to their “bigfoot encounter” to quiet down, but for now he saw no harm in letting her chatter. 

After a bit, he put a hand on her shoulder. “Emily, look.” He pointed to the ground, where a few huge tracks were pressed into the dirt, leading off the main path and into the deeper woods.

“WHOA.” Emily said, kneeling next to the tracks. “We’re really going the right way!”

“We are.” Mulder knelt next to her. “Okay, what do you notice about the tracks?”

Emily tilted her head. “They’re kinda scuffed.”

“Yes, exactly. That means he was running.”

“Oooh, really?”

“Yeah. We gotta move quickly but quietly, okay?”

“Okay!” With her green, fuzzy hand, she made a “zipped lips” motion by her mask.

Mulder grinned and took her hand, jogging at her speed out into the denser trees.

Even though they were jogging and Emily was still so young, she was fast. It made him smile and his chest swell with pride – she may not have been his biological daughter, but she was still taking after her old man. 

They followed the tracks he had laid out that morning using an old pair of boots modified with modeling clay for a while until Mulder slowed, tugging Emily to do the same.

“Okay, he whispered, leaning down by her head. “See how the tracks are closer together and not scuffed here? That means he’s back to walking.”

Emily nodded, lips still zipped. 

“Keep your eyes peeled. He might be close.”

“Eyes peeled.” Emily gave him a tiny salute, which he returned.

They walked quietly until, a few moments later, Emily gasped and pointed.

There, in the middle of a clearing, was a bigfoot.

(Or, rather, a cardboard cutout of one that Mulder had spent a few hours earlier in the week carefully crafting from old boxes and spare lumber.)

Mulder put a finger up and pulled her down to crouch beside him. “Get your camera,” he whispered.

Emily reached under her suit and fished out a yellow disposable camera. Quickly, she took a couple of photos before stuffing the camera back under her suit and grabbing her dad’s hand.

The two of them snuck away, waiting until they were back on the main path before they let their triumphant laughter erupt.

“We found one, Daddy!!!” Emily jumped up and down, the green strands of her ghillie suit flouncing around her.

Mulder laughed, still holding her hand as she jumped. “We sure did! And we didn’t scare it away! Good job!”

“That was better than when we found the Flatwoods Monster!”

“Yeah! You did such a good job being quiet, and you remembered everything we learned last time.”

Emily giggled and skipped down the path, pulling him along. “Come on! We have to show Mommy!”

Soon enough, they were back at the unremarkable house just on the edge of the woods, where the windows glowed with light from the inside, inviting them home.

Mulder and Emily tromped into the house, taking off their masks as the heat of the kitchen hit them.

“Honey, we’re home.” Mulder said with a grin as Scully took in their matching smiles and rosy cheeks.

“Mommy we found one!” Emily skipped up to the table, waving her camera in the air. “And I got a picture!”

“Oh really?” Scully smiled at her. “We can take that to the store tomorrow to develop it.”

“Thanks!” Emily turned to Gibson, who was standing at the end of the table over a metal tray. “What are you doing, Gibby?”

“Dissecting a grasshopper.” Gibson said without looking up. He was pinning open the thoracic cavity with pins from Scully’s personal dissection kit. “Dana’s been teaching me about internal insect anatomy.”

“Ew.” Emily crinkled her nose. “Pass.”

Mulder shared a smile with Scully as he patted Emily on the back. “Go take your suit off and wash up for dinner, okay?” She bounded off, camera clutched safely in both hands, as Mulder turned to Scully. “Internal insect anatomy? Dr. Scully, does your expertise know no bounds?”

She smiled at him. “Old dogs can, in fact, learn new tricks.” She lifted a book of insect dissection instructions from the counter. “The local library is a magical place.”

He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “Well, I’m still impressed.” He looked down the table. “Having fun, Gibson?”

Gibson finally looked up with a small smile. “Yeah. I’m almost through the digestive system.”

Mulder swallowed, deliberately not looking at the insect. “Cool. You can tell me all about it…  after supper.”

Gibson’s smile widened just a bit and then he returned to his work. 

“I’m going to wash up,” Mulder said as he squeezed Scully’s wrist, just above her glove, “and then I’ll start the food, okay?”

“Thanks.” She rose on her tiptoes to kiss the corner of his mouth. “There’s chicken thawing in the sink.”

“Thanks.” 

He headed to the bedroom but, just before he closed the door he paused; in the kitchen, he could hear Scully’s low voice patiently explaining how to make some kind of cut on the grasshopper, followed by a quiet question from Gibson. In the next room over, he could hear Emily singing some playground song as she washed her hands and face. Outside, he could hear crickets calling and frogs croaking. 

And he smiled, feeling warm inside his home with his family.

[crescentmoonrider]

hi!!! i stumbled upon the haunted hallway au today and i loved it!! i was mostly wondering about tanjiro’s side of the story and how exactly all his endings (both good and bad) would play out? i was also wondering about tanjiro’s friends and their stories in this au

hello !! thank you so much for your ask, i'm glad to know someone is enjoying this little idea of mine (❁´◡`❁)

i don't exactly have a full list of endings in mind, but they would definitely depend on the percentage of school Mysteries solved, and the depth of understanding of the various characters. maybe with one or two joke ones for fun

a few of them would be

Worst ending :

Conditions - no Mysteries are solved. no relationships have passed a certain threshold. Tanjirou steps into the haunted hallway on his own

Scenario - i mentioned it in this post before, but in short Tanjirou gets murdered by the ghost haunting the hallway. the epilogue shows him helping Senjurou (who just started high school) with directions, implying that Senjurou will be the next victim in this seemingly endless cycle of death

this ending can probably be triggered like. Extremely Early. any% speedrun strat

Not Very Good ending :

Conditions - Tanjirou doesn't step into the haunted hallway at any point

Scenario - Tanjirou and his friends make it out of high school in one piece. the epilogue shows Senjurou asking Sabito for directions, implying that while Tanjirou escaped the curse himself, things haven't changed and the hallway will keep on taking lives

can technically be triggered in any playthrough, but why would you go to the trouble of solving every Mystery and maxing out all relationships for that ?

Vase ending :

Conditions - Tanjirou goes into the art room alone at night to solve the 6th Mystery on his own

Scenario - Tanjirou gets ghost murdered and stuffed into a vase by the vengeful ghost of a failed artist

it's repeatedly mentioned not to go alone into this one, so this ending is more of a "what were you expecting ?" kinda deal

Best ending :

Conditions - all 7 Mysteries are solved fully. all relationships are maxed out. Tanjirou steps into the hallway with his friends by his side

Scenario - Tanjirou confronts the corrupted ghost responsible for the haunting and the deaths, and armed with his knowledge of the school's Mysteries and understanding of the timeline of events, realizes that the ghost was himself a student, and that the corruption was a result of his fear of being alone for all of eternity. breaking into a locked locker in a part of the hallway no one walked into in at least 50 years, Tanjirou finds the remains of the first ghost and brings him peace, putting an end to the curse

the final credits show all the ghosts finally moving on, with a smile on their face. with the end of the haunting, the hallway can finally be renovated, and the remains of all victims are found and finally get a proper funeral

.

now on to Tanjirou's friends ! or i guess what i've been calling "relationships" in the first part of this post. in order of appearance

Sabito

delinquent third year, never seen without his training sword or his mask. Tanjirou encounters him for the first time when Sabito throws an empty bucket at his head to stop him from walking into the haunted hallway

while a bit abrasive, Sabito deeply cares about the well-being of the other students and will give Tanjirou advice on places to avoid or go to, or on ways to get some rare items

seems to have a complicated relationship with Tomioka-sensei ?

(during his research on the school's past and the truth of the haunted hallway, Tanjirou can obtain an old picture taken at the start of Tomioka-sensei's third year of high school and figure out that Sabito died later that same year, taken by the hallway. his true purpose is to prevent other students from suffering the same fate)

Tomioka-sensei

depressed P.E. teacher and Tanjirou's homeroom teacher. met in class, because, like, yeah

distant at first, once Tanjirou shows enough assiduity in class and witnesses a tense encounter between Tomioka-sensei and Sabito, he can be slowly walked into opening up. his trust lets Tanjirou access some archives at the school library that he wouldn't be allowed to see otherwise

what on earth is it that burdens his soul so much ?

(obtaining his old school picture and showing it to Sabito lets Tanjirou learn about the circumstances of Sabito's death, and the reason why Tomioka-sensei feels responsible for it. later, Tanjirou can play messenger between the two, and finally help them both find some peace, although Sabito will not pass on until the ghost of the hallway is dealt with)

Zenitsu

overly-anxious classmate with an unfortunate crush on Tanjirou's little sister. as the class representative, he takes Tanjirou aside on the first day to ask him to take off his earrings, as they are against school regulations

his genre-aware tendencies will lead him to give Tanjirou advice on how to avoid meeting a tragic end, and he has easy access to the teachers' room thanks to his status as class rep

for some reason, he keeps asking for really rare items ?

(while helping Zenitsu deal with the bullying his older brother inflicts on him doesn't do much in terms of solving Mysteries, doing so will earn Tanjirou his undying loyalty, and he will even step into the haunted hallway with him, to what he fears is certain death, for the sake of this friendship)

Makomo

aloof and a bit of an airhead, she wears a unique, hand-crafted hair ornament at all times. Tanjirou meets her for the first time by accidentally interrupting her conversation with Sabito

Makomo has a keen interest in rumors, and is the first to mention the existence of the 7 Mysteries to Tanjirou. while it may sometimes seem like she is speaking in riddles, her guidance will be invaluable in knowing what to look for

why is she allowed to wear a custom uniform ?

(investigating the beginnings of the haunted hallway will reveal that Makomo was one of its first victims, nearly 50 years ago. she has been looking to put an end to this curse ever since, and watches over Tanjirou as he walks into the hallway in turn. pick up her precious hair ornament under a bookcase in the abandoned hallway and come back alive, and you can get a bonus post-credit scene)

Inosuke

delinquent first year, so rarely seen without his stupid horse mask that most people don't even know his face. first encountered properly while Tanjirou investigates the Mystery of the beautiful girl on the roof

initially brash (and not very bright), but with good instincts, tame him with enough food and compliments and he will be an invaluable ally in finding hidden clues and avoiding the very real dangers hidden behind the last Mysteries

the real identity of the mysterious "beautiful girl on the roof" ?

(if Tanjirou decides to investigate the Mystery of the beautiful girl on the roof further after getting Inosuke's relationship high enough, he will realize that Inosuke isn't, in fact, said beautiful girl. going to the roof again with that knowledge allows him and Inosuke to meet with the ghost of Kotoha. finally meeting with her son lets her find peace, and leads Inosuke to trust Tanjirou fully and finally max out his relationship)

Urokodaki

the old school janitor, determined to work there until his death for some reason. Makomo introduces him to Tanjirou once her relationship passes a certain threshold

befriending him is a must if Tanjirou wants to get access to locked rooms, including the school at night time. more importantly, Urokodaki has an uncanny knowledge of the supernatural that will help Tanjirou solve the later Mysteries

Makomo calls him dad, but isn't he way too old ?

(much like Tanjirou, Urokodaki can see ghosts just as well as living people, and his years of experience only pale in comparison to his love for his deceased daughter. once Tanjirou shows enough determination to solve all Mysteries and put an end to the haunting, Urokodaki will gift him with a protective charm like the one Makomo wears in her hair, unlocking a special ending if Tanjirou dies while carrying it)

Rengoku-sensei*

while not a relationship proper, history teacher Rengoku-sensei can be encountered in the library or the teachers' room at some points, and his knowledge of the school's past can help Tanjirou solve some of the Mysteries

he mentions off-handedly that Tanjirou reminds him of his little brother at multiple points

[o0o0thorn0o0o]

New year, new OC. Well, to most of you, anyway.

No, I did not forget Karma and Gakushuu’s birthdays (though, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I did). For Karma, I missed it ‘cause… well, I explained it in my last post; it’s there. So then I thought this was a perfect opportunity to make a brothers post, give him a late b-day piece, especially since if I were to pick one of the birthdays, I prefer January 1st (though, twins (and triplets, too, but, er, we’ll get to that very soon) don’t have to be born on the same day, so he could still be born on Christmas… details, details). And then, because I’ve been mulling over introducing her for a while, I decided to make it into a triplets post and introduce you to my OC Mineko.

She’s made a cameo before though; I don’t know if you remember. It was in a Kuniko piece.

I originally meant to introduce her in a fanfic first, but, uh… dunno when that’ll be written ^^; (I’ll get to it one day, but it��s not seeming anytime soon). Made her a few years ago because I really like seeing people give Gakushuu or Karma a sister, and since I’m obsessed with brothers’ AUs, why not hit two birds with one stone? Though, she only came into proper fruition when I got the fic idea. But yeah, decided to introduce her now, since January 1st is definitely her birthday, regardless of Karma’s (she’s the middle triplet. Gakushuu’s still the baby brother, haha). That was the plan, anyway, considering January 1st was yesterday… Oops.

But yeah, a belated happy birthday to Gakushuu (and Mineko), and a very belated happy birthday to Karma (One year, I’ll be on time for both 😤).

I’ll post some old sketches of her in a few days from now (to pad out some time for my next post; dunno when I’ll get something new out), and I’ll talk a bit more about her then, too, so you have some info on her and she’s not just a blank slate until I get her character sheet done (I am working on those, trust me… just, the art rut paused the process). But yeah, kinda wanna talk about the piece for a bit.

Since I’m dealing with 3, Neapolitan flavors were an easy idea to come to. So they’re having a little sibling outing on their birthday, eating little cakes. Obviously don’t have to explain Karma’s choice of flavor, but I kinda wanna explain Shuu’s. See, when I was a kid, I vividly remember seeing vanilla being referred to as the king of ice cream flavors, but when I looked it up years down the line, I couldn’t really find anything justifying my memory :/ But I’m pairing Shuu with vanilla because of that title my little kid brain may or may not have made up. I mean, why wouldn’t he want the (hypothetical) king of all flavors? And then Mineko gets chocolate by process of elimination. She wouldn’t really have a preference between those three flavors.

[hils79]

Thanks for tagging me (ages ago I'm sorry I suck) @puppy-phum

-

1. why did you choose your url?

I am so boring I almost want to apologise for it. My url is just my nickname and the year I was born (yes, I am old).

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

I don't really use my sideblogs much. I've got one that I haven't used for years that I used to post some of my photography on @hal-photography. I've got one for an old UK convention that folded during the pandemic but that I used to do the marketing for @writerconuk and I've got a whump blog that I use to reblog my favourite whumpy gifs so that they're easy to find. Not sharing that one because I do not wish to be Perceived.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

My original blog was set up in 2010. I had to nuke it after some unpleasantness in the Supernatural fandom (isn't it always SPN) and I've had this current once since 2011 I think

4. do you have a queue tag?

Nah, I don't queue things as a general rule. I do a bunch of reblogging first thing in the morning while I'm scrolling in bed and that's more or less it

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was looking for a new home after Livejournal finally properly died and most fandom folk were here at that time

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

It's a piece of DMBJ art that my housemate comissioned as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. I love it, and it was made specifically for me, so I made it my header and my icon

7. why did you choose your header?

Same as above

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

This RDJ/Paul Bettany exchange I ripped from Twitter. I have no idea why it ended up with 20k notes

9. how many mutuals do you have?

I honestly have no idea. Lots.

10. how many followers do you have?

Argh now I'm going to have to go and look. 2421. Wow.

11. how many people do you follow?

Wow this thing is really exposing me. 1908. I generally follow back so long as I can see that the person is an active fandom blog where we have at least one fandom in common.

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

I mostly shitpost in the tags

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

Generally for an hour in the morning before I get up and then however long it takes me to liveblog my next drama episode in the evening

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

No, I don't think so. Not that I can remember anyway. I generally try and avoid conflict and if someone is annoying me I just block them and/or vent about it in a safe space with friends I trust.

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts

Makes me less inclined to reblog them tbh. Don't tell me what to do in my own house.

16. do you like tag games?

I am so bad at remembering to do them when I get tagged (see above about only really being on tumblr for an hour a day) but I do appreciate it every time someone thinks of me

17. do you like ask games?

Yeah, same as above. I love them but I am crap at remembering to answer the asks. I'm very sorry.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

I'm not sure I could name anyone who is tumblr famous beyond the actual celebrities who hang out here (like Lynda Carter)

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

I have mutuals I admire and wish I was brave enough to talk to more but I wouldn't really call them crushes. As an aroace I don't really do crushes.

20. tags?

I'm going to tag a few of my newer mutuals so I can get to know them a bit better. Absolutely no pressure though @prolestari @queenbeyondthejudge @fangirl-bookaholic @huzzzah @life-is-all-about-perspective @loving-that-officey-feel @greenyball @hwasfeatherduster

[fallen-gravity]

What inspired you to make Safe Haven? Btw I really love the fanfic not just because I’m Mollie and Ollie fan but it’s also because you have shown how much they have grown in there friendship after everything that has happened to them. Keep up the great work!

And just wondering how would Scratch react when he realizes Ollie was sleeping over in the McGee’s guest room?

aaa, thank you so much for your kind words!!! it really means a lot to me to hear that people love my work 🥺🥺🥺🥺

A lot of the intial inspiration came from a headcanon I've been talking about with friends for months about Ollie sneaking off to the McGee house. Even before he told his parents that he thinks ghosts can be good and compassionate at NecroComicon, he's been struggling knowing that he has such contrasting morals with his parents (and even his own sister before he had a chance to talk to her too) and that really scares him, so I like to believe that sometimes he would sneak out to spend time with Molly and her family because he wants a space where he can autheitcally be himself. There's a queer metaphor in there somewhere about having a closest self and a true self around loved ones you trust the most, and little sprinkled bits and pieces of wherefore art thou Romeo. NecroComicon airing only added fuel to the fire of Ruben and Esther canonically not being accepting of Ollie's differentiating morals, so yeah, of course he's gonna feel extra scared and unsafe, because now they know he's not like them anymore.

Another part of it, the really initimate part of Molly and Ollie comforting each other through gentle touches and whispers, that part comes from personal experience. When I was about 16 or so years old, there was a time where my then-partner and I got talking about life stuff, and not even necessarily about us or our future or anything that was really about our relationship, and we started getting really emotional because yeah, sometimes talking about life is hard. And we were feeling really shy about it, cause we were around other friends too, so the way we went about it was we kind of...squeezed each other in a really tight hug, and we touched foreheads and got all real close and balled up together, and...we cried. We talked about heavy stuff together and wanted to cry together and it felt like a genuinely healing experience. Molly and Ollie are both going through a lot, and, you know, they're both incredibly touchy people in canon, that it just felt to me like that's something they'd benefit from. Have a heavy talk, and then just take a few moments to let the other help ground you. Gently take them by the hand, wind an arm around them, tell them that they're sitting right there and that they don't plan on leaving any time soon. The fact that The Grand Gesture and mollie becoming canon in the very next episode that aired after writing it was insane luck on my end; I genuinely had no idea what the episode was going to be about outside of June and Darryl's plot, so you can only imagine the look on my face rereading Safe Haven after it aired. Holy shit.

As for how Scratch would react knowing Ollie is right there in his house, well...I'm sure Sharon wasn't the only person that Molly woke up when she was running around trying to make sure Ollie was okay, right? 😉 The way I see it, he woke up when she woke up, and he was gonna give both of them an earful about it, but by the time he caught up with them, he'd probably just run into Ollie crying into Molly's shoulder, and even he's not that heartless to kick someone while they're down.

But he is petty enough to wait until morning, ask how Ollie's feeling, and if he responds with oh, thank you for asking, Scratch! I'm feeling a lot better, then he's gonna tear him a new one for waking him up in the middle of the night and worrying Molly sick like that. But of course Ollie's used to it by this point, and knows that probably means he was secretly worried too, so he just responds to all of his griping with a smile.

[seeminglydark]

i can't remember if you've answered this before (i feel like you probably have but i don't really know how to check): how does Johnny break in his boots? or does he just wear the shit out of them until they're broken in on their own?

I have not! so as a kid i think he would have worn the shit out of them until they broke in on their own or used the hammer towel method (hope you got a lot of heel bandaids available johnny boy!) though to be honest, i have these art pieces where hes a teen wearing docs, and im really not sure how he'd canonically even get a pair of docs, you know chief o'sullivan would never have bought him 100+ dollar boots so thats either a gift from Caro, friends, or not canon. truthfully he'd probably have worn general issue black combat boots he got at the local thrift store in his teens.

older john would be aware there are easier ways to break in a pair of leather boots without killing your feet completely, he'd resort to the tried and true way condition your leather and wear double thick socks, and occasionally apply gentle heat (hair dryer method) or toss em in the freezer.

i guess heres another Punk Rock Fact for you-

its best to wear 2 layers of thick socks, your docs /boots should be a bit snug when you buy them, cuz leather stretches and they will end up too loose if you size up (this is also why its not always great to buy leather shoes or boots from the thrift, theyve already molded to other peoples feet and can hurt and fit you very wrong!)! two socks helps protect your feets and push against the boots.

wear them around the house for a few days with your double socks to loosen up the leather, take em off when it starts hurting and extend the time every day. stuff newspaper in em when youre not wearing them if you want to help them maintain stretch. keep those bandaids and heel blister plasters close by.

so the two ways to make it happen a little bit fast is heat or cold. so for heat what you wanna do is get some leather balm (hate to shill a product but doc martens wonderbalm is actually super nice. mink oil works too.) set that aside and put on your biggest fattest socks or double layer, throw your boots on and lace em up real tight. yeah its not gonna feel good. thats ok, youll live probably. now take a hair dryer on its lowest setting and VERY GENTLY and not too close to your boot, heat all the surfaces with it for about 30 seconds per spot (but continuously move the hair dryer). dont do this for to long and only do it once or twice, you dont wanna damage the glue but the heat will help the leather become more supple and stretch faster. leave the boots and and walk around your house again, stretching them out, bending your feet, stand on your tiptoes etc. after they cool, apply the wonderbalm as per instruction to protect the leather.

and finally the freezer method, i use this mostly if my leather shoes or boots are a bit too snug still. fill a heavy duty ziplock bag about halfway with water and make sure its sealed really tight with no air inside. stick the bag in your boots, trust me on this, and throw em in the freezer over night. SCIENCE IS FUN ice expands, take em out the next day and let em defrost and voila. the leather has stretched and softened because of the expanding ice.

basically, take care of your leather! lots of conditioner and wear them gently. if you've got your own tried or true methods, let me know, im old and this is what ive always done, so id love to learn new ways!

[rum-and-shattered-dreams]

Writing and life updates (October 1, 2024)

Gahhhh why? Here I thought I was done writing stuff for Engaging Encounter but now I have a need to add more chronic pain/illness Ford content…

Guess it’s not actually done until it’s all posted and even then nothing says my questionable inhibitions can stop me from adding more random one shots or something. XD

This won’t change the schedule for it. It’ll just make the word count higher because apparently I have no self-restraint.

(I seriously wish I was better at art-ing because I have some ideas for companion art for this that just... Won't come out >_<).

Also still working on The Man Downstairs. I'm just trying to sort out something in the next chapter but it's getting there.

Personal/life blather under the cut:

Regarding the hurricane, firstly, I'm sorry if I come off as callous about them sometimes. I've just lived with them for so long that I'm tired. Yeah it's important to prepare for them and be cautious about them and I am but after going through so many times of packing things up, evacuating, putting up the shutters, thinking everything may not be there anymore in a few days, etc, it's hard to not just be tired when another one threatens your area.

For this one, my family and I are incredibly lucky to be okay. Just got a bit of easily fixable wind damage (so easy that it's already fixed). But ten minutes down the road, the storm surge destroyed the homes of friends and businesses that have been part of the community for decades. And I mean the little shops where you knew the owner and they'd been around seemingly forever, building character over the decades. One shop had been there since the 50's accumulating writing on its walls from customers since then. One shopping center of mostly small businesses had been there for so long that it looked like it had been built out of things that washed ashore over decades of collecting it and piecing it together. Another had a collection of decades worth of frog collectibles brought in by regular customers. And those are just a few examples. Heck, my old middle school from nearly 30 years ago with a mural I helped paint on one of its walls was under water.

Yeah it can be rebuilt but that is so much character and history just gone. Some places may not rebuild or reopen because the owners see it as a sign to retire.

So anyway, while I do feel incredibly fortunate to not be in a circumstance like the woman I just talked to who lost the lease on her house because "an act of god" nullified it with two feet of water, I feel horrible for everyone who was affected and definitely feel the loss of community spaces that have been part of people's lives here for as long as they can remember.

[trrickytickle]

Ten-Tickles 🛸

the punchline was “what does it take to make an alien laugh?” but then again, title would get too long. last fic i did for this franchise was so bad (it was pretty much a glorified headcanon list) so i deleted it 💀 Be warned, a lot of these drabbles have the same sort of wafer-thin setup, I just need excuses to write the situations they're in.

Self-indulgent switch Ben+Gwen drabbles I did in between prompts and such. because 1) I’m a 2000s CN kid and 2) I’m trash lmao. Props to my brother for putting up with me for asking him questions about a show I haven’t seen in years and then again it was only bits and pieces of said show. they should have had a tk scene let me live my truth. and yes i've never watched this show in years but i do have a human encyclopedia at my disposal (shoutout again to my poor brobro)

But anyways, oh my DAYS, Ben and Gwen. Still essential parts of EVERY tickle doodle sheet. They were THE ler-leaning switches ever in my day (old hag voice). DEF annoying lers, tk potential THROUGH DA ROOOOF but the shenanigans are better in small doses. footerfeet tickles in ditto + wildvine + greymatter drabbles btw (if u dont like) (OH and in the last drabble as well)

I am NOT familiar at all with any of the story stuff or like 128923 other serieses. All I know is that there's a blue furry now and what my brother tells me (a whole bunch, it's the tism) (same). This is just my brainvomit.  So yeah. These are the small shenanigan doses. 10 drabbles, 10 aliens, that’s the gist.  YEAH IM TRASH SUE ME

Putting the weird gut-wrenching feeling he got after the Omnitrix would power down again aside, Ghostfreak was a fun one. What was not to love about phasing through walls like a peeping Tom and scaring the crap out of little kids? Best part was- Gwen didn’t seem to like him.

This past summer, the Rustbucket had parked its tires down next to many, many art museums, much to Ben’s dismay. The Cleveland Art Museum was no different to him (it was in Ohio, so it was probably worse).  Marble statues and paintings filled a lifeless square with ivory walls as if to compensate for something. Like the art strung up on the walls, it was a tragic sight. Ben gave a loud groan, to which Grandpa Max shushed in response.

“Look, it’s all part of the deal-” he lectured. “We went where you wanted to go-”

“Blehh-bleh-blehh-bleh-bleh-bleh-bleeh..” Ben mocked, just barely brushing past a delicate display.

“Can’t you have some culture, mush-for-brains!?” Gwen snapped. “This place has lots of history behind it!”

They kept walking, stopping to admire piece after piece after piece, and then they just had to read the little information cards on the bottom. Boring.

“Yeah, yeah, history, schmistory. The guy who drew that’s probably dead anyway. Speaking of dead…” Slamming the dial on a spooky silhouette, Ghostfreak floated up with a chill in the frigid air. 

 "Boo!" he joked, startling Gwen (and everyone else in the museum) with a jolt. She scowled, glaring daggers into Ghostfreak's single pupil.

“What? This place is practically a ghost town already.” Another glare from the ginger. “Tough crowd, I guess.”  Ghostfreak phased through a few statues and peeled off its skin to scare onlookers, then went back to bother Gwen again.

“Heeeeeyyy…” 

"What.” Gwen snapped, turning around from her view of a sculpture. The alien dove through her torso, phasing through and quite literally getting inside her head, possessing her and stringing her hands around like a disorganized puppeteer.

"Stop tickling yourself." Ghostfreak rasped. Out of her control, Gwen's own hands danced around her tummy. Her possessed body struggled to keep from breaking out in a laughing fit, snickering, snorting and gritting her teeth.

"NGH-gh-hh-heh.." Gwen grunted, contorting her twisting smile into a grimace. Her own arms still moved unwillingly around her sides, and Ghostfreak's teasing whispers rang through her own corporal body.

"Stop tickling yourself. Stop tickling yourself. Stooop tickling yourself~" Her cousin's nagging voice surrounded Gwen's thoughts louder than usual, and if that wasn't bad enough, her own fingers involuntarily dug their way into her ribs, and along the hallowing halls reverberated her shrill, loud shriek.

'Hehehe-haha-hYIEEEEK!! Youhohou're such a dweeb!!" Through laughter, her own hands squeesed their way down her sides.

Ghostfreak phased out of her, laughing in a strange demented manner. Scowling, Gwen and Grandpa Max were dragged out of the building whilst Ben floated behind, gloating.

Well, this wasn't the first place they were kicked out of.

The Plumber base was cool at first. The secret entrance was cool. The alien ray-guns were cool. Even the prospect of plain old Grandpa kicking butt for a living was cool. As visits became more frequent, the wow-factor dulled. Grandpa Max would almost always be off discussing confidential matters, and Ben and Gwen would be left to their own devices under the vague condition of "don't touch anything", and more often than not, Ben would run into a room he wasn't allowed in while Gwen ran after him, and such was the case. A monitor twice the size of a movie screen fell before the cousins' eyes, with a keyboard thrice as wide to boot.

"Too many failed login attempts. Try again in fifteen minutes!?" Ben groaned. "You'd think we'd be allowed to test some of this stuff out.."

"What part of "don't touch anything" do you not understand, bozo?" Gwen retorted.

"Relax, it's not like he'll notice.." Ben shrugged in response, fingers wriggling over the cluttered keyboard. Before he could lay a finger on it, Gwen held him up by the back of his shirt.

"Hey! Do I look like I want Grandpa to kill us?"

Writhing, Ben looked down, turning the Omnitrix dial and slamming it, resulting in a mass of neon-streaked ferrofluid coagulating into his technological form. Upgrade slithered its way out of Gwen's reach and enveloped the screen, and Ben was interlinked to the monitor.

"Wo-ho-hoah! Look at all these! I don't even know what to name all of them!" Upgrade chirped, putty-like head popping out of the monitor. Slides of alien data files popped up in duochromatic green and black. Gwen groaned in frustration and scoured the keyboard for some sort of power down switch.

"Come on, come on! The Plumbers should know where to put a dang off button!" Disgruntled, Gwen's fingers closed as many tabs as her cousin could open. Ben felt jolts of static zapping at his mechanical form. For every press on the unnecessarily complicated contraption, the little zaps would grow increasingly inconvenient. And they tickled. Bad. Upgrade thrashed, threatening to jump out of the screen.

"-ngh- Would you stop -ugh- bothering me? I'm trying to get us- YOU out of trouble!" Gwen dodged the assault of his synthetic limbs while resuming her attempt to shut the device off.

"Hehe-heh-hey! I'm nohot trying to, you're tickling me!" Upgrade jittered. There was an eager glint in Gwen's eyes which made him regret his choice of words. Like a pianist, she cracked her knuckles, wiggling her fingers before the keys.

"Oh yeah? How's this for tickling? How about this?" Gwen pressed a crescendo of keys in a sadistic cacophony in a quick, succeeding fashion. Her fingers precisely clicked away from the top row all across the bottom. Upgrade's putty-like construct could barely constrict, only jutting outwards as each shockwave coursed through his synthetic body.

"G-gh-HA-HA-heh-HAHA-hah-heh-ha-HAHAHAHAHA! Quihihit it, lame-brain! Stohop, stohoho-hop! Ihi-hihi'm beheh-hehe-gging you!"

"Nope. Serves you right!" Gwen continued, smirking in sadistic glee at her newfound knowledge. Her hands criss-crossed across the board, aiming for certain nooks and crannies (the space bar was especially bad), laughing along with the Mechamorph.

As what was left of ten minutes ticked away, the clicking of keys grew louder and faster, and Upgrade's chippery laughter rang through the hallowed halls of the Plumber base.

It wasn’t fair. No matter how many games of license plate bingo Ben betted it on, it was always Gwen who got to sit and soak up the AC in the front seat. It was torture, seeing her kick back, a gloating grin square on her face when she looked back at the shaky, sizzling back seat- and desperate times like this called for desperate measures. Annoying ones. Wandering his way down the matted carpet of the Rustbucket on his tiptoes, Ben crept up at his cousin and goosed her in the sides with an evil glint in his eyes.

“Poke.”

A squeal! made Grandpa look back from the steering wheel and groan dejectedly. Gwen scowled, gritting her teeth.

“Rrrr!  Why do you have to be such a- EEEEE!!” A plethora of pokes followed from her sides up to her ribs, along with occasional digs at her armpits- that is if they weren’t slammed shut in preparation for imminent attack.

“Gr-Grandpa! He’s being annoying!” To no avail, Grandpa Max kept on driving, trying to shut out her high pitched laughter.

“I’m only stopping if you’ll let me sit up front..” Ben retorted obnoxiously. “Poooooke- OW!” Gwen flicked him on the index finger in response, giggling smugly. He attempted to reach in numerous times afterwards, but each one would be deflected by Gwen’s hand.

“Nice try, doofus! That won’t work on me!” she stated, hands on hips. It was desperate times like now which called for desperate measures. Knowing Ben, he wouldn’t back down from a challenge, and when Gwen heard the dial-turn of the Omnitrix, it spelled trouble.

“But this might!” Four-Arms’ booming, baritone voice growled. His massive size bent him double against the roof of the RV, which only made Gwen closer to (two) arms’ reach.

“Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.”

But think about it he did. Gwen’s wrists were grasped by Ben’s single muscle-bound alien arm, lifting her up, and his other three were prodding away while she squirmed at the hands of the squatting extraterrestrial.

"Hihihehehehehe-AH-haha! Puhuhut me dohohown!" She bucked, instinctively kicking the window so hard the air freshener swung like a pendulum. Grandpa Max lifted one hand off the steering wheel to facepalm and rub his temples. Kids.

"Surrender the front seat!"

"Or whahahat, you slimeba-ha-hall!?"

"Or I'm amping it up!" Halting the stabbing jabs, Four-Arms lifted Gwen's legs up, receiving full access to her torso. Her long-sleeved tee was pulled to reveal her midsection, which his brawny lower hands then toyed with like an organ. "So, about that front seat.. Ready for it to be mine now? Huh??.." " ..Huh? Aw, MAN!" Like it was fate, the Omnitrix timed out in a flash of red, and Ben was met with a stern Grandpa-glare.

Why'd she always have to win?

"Kk-ggh-HA-HA! That's unfahair! G-Gwen, you're che-hee-HEA-ting!" 

"Hah-how is it chehe-heating if- -ngh- I'm nohot letting you cheat!?" 

The plasticine squeak of chafing against polyester was frequent as gunfire in the warzone that was the Rustbucket and laughter filled summer air like mustard gas- an all-out tickle tussle had arose in the midst of a stop for gas and supplies. Gwen had the upper hand, as Ben had slid off onto the carpet from her dirty tactic of holding up his left hand (conveniently also his cool alien watch-wielding hand) and targeting his armpit. Hypocritically, she reached over for her spellbook,  leaning over on the booth seat as her cousin floundered on the carpet, and she had let go, unaware, only to look back at a flash of neon green. Ditto emerged, splitting into one- then two- then three. 

"Uh-ooooh, looks like somebody's outnumbered!" One chatty clone piped while the other snuck up behind her back, putting its arms above Gwen's shoulders and mercilessly targeting her tummy. The other two, however, grabbed her ankles and tossed her shoes off and gave each other the same shit-eating knowing smirk, cartoonishly wiggling their free fingers. 

"Hah-hehe-HA-ha-HA! Ahaha-ha-quit it, quit it, qui-hih-hi-hit it!" Gwen repeated, giggling.

"Raspberry on three?" the Ditto at her left foot remarked, the rest nodding. 

"Three.. two.." 

"One!" Gwen yelled, squeezing the Ditto behind her's side. All three yelped in unison, and the smile on her face shifted to one involuntary to a knowing grin. Smirking, she pinned the clone down, pursing her lips and leaning in for a satisfyingly sloppy raspberry, then  another, and then another. All three laughed hysterically, swatting at air. 

"guh-HA-HAHA-AHAHAHA-HA!! Stoppit! P-puh-PLEEASE!" 

"Hah-HA-Ha-HAHA-Haha-have MERCY!!" 

"Nnnnghh-HHHAHA-HA!! It TICKLES!!" 

"Not 'till lunch, dwe- ACK!" Gwen called back as the Omnitrix timed out, only to be greeted with a pounce by her now-human cousin, his fingers threateningly spidering over her. "Don't even! B-Be-hehe-hen!"

Typically, Gwen wasn't one to boast. It was mainly Ben's antics that kept her humble during the road trip. Today seemed to be a rather obnoxious exception- she'd just grasped a spell, and used it every chance she got. Throughout this long summer day, cries of "Reanima Verdanica!" irritated Ben and to an extent, Grandpa Max to no end as flowers bloomed wherever she went.

"Alright, alright! I get it! You can make a few posies and pansies, what's the big deal!?" Ben whined. No response. Thinking the campsite they were parked at could use a little sprucing up, wildflowers sprouted from the mana on Gwen's hands onto the ground. Flowers that were tenfold their original size were visible from the sun-faded windows. Ben slumped onto the dinette table, rolling his eyes, when not long after he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"A little Wildvine'll show her who's boss!" Evergreen now surrounded the inside of the vehicle in a flash of light.  Ben, in Wildvine's form, slithered out the door and snuck up behind his cousin.

"Reanima...verdanicAAHHH! What is WITH you, freakazoid!?" 

"Hah! How's this for a plant?" Wildvine growled. "Betcha flowers can't do this!" Extending like a jumper cable, a tendril from his left hand extended, grabbing Gwen by her legs. Upside-down, the spellcaster struggled in her surprisingly strong bonds. Her spellbook fell to the floor with an underwhelming thud.

"Grrrr! Let me down, or-"

"Or what? You're gonna make me a flower crown?" He gloated. Wildvine's tuberous face shifted into a smirk, and from his sides, he conjured three sets of rakelike vines- two of which wormed into Gwen's armpits, the other pair slowly skittered against her ribs and tummy, and, to her relief, the last pair laid still against his roots. His methods were slow, but boy, were they evil.

"Ngh-hehe-gGGGGH! Reanima-haha... Verda-HA! Reanima Ver-daha-HAnicA! Ngh.. STUPID spell!" Continually, Gwen attempted to say the spell straight-faced, but humiliating giggles would slip out in between her attempt to resist. Not even weeds would grow from the ground. 

"Payback, princess!" Wildvine rasped, the last set of arms shot up and the left arm grabbed hold of her left foot, whilst the right took off her shoe and began to scribble and shuffle against her sole in quick succession. The other vines followed suit, speeding up.

"Ugh! Reanima-HA-HAHAHAHA! Eeee-ya-hehehe-HAHAHA! You are so-hoho getting it when I'm out of here!"

She'd keep that promise and keep it well.

(oh ma JESUS i had to do research (ick) to get this one to work, i'm also a dog person if you couldn't tell)

Most people associated summer with sweltering heat and running through sprinklers. Most people, however, would not associate it with a life-or-death journey to retrieve lost alien DNA samples across the galaxy on a spaceship. Half the Omnitrix's rogue's gallery had been magically corrupted in a battle with Hex, giving Ben limited access to its library. 

It wasn't as grueling as the past battle against Vilgax- the aliens scanned in the past had offered themselves up again without a fight- but Wildmutt's sample was different. Its home planet Vulpin also housed heaps of malignant radioactive waste, so Tetrax, the crystalized mercenary, took matters into his own hands and brought it onto the ship. Flighty, feral and difficult to control, it was hard to ease. 

"Now, no sudden movements.." Tetrax husked. "Just touch and scan." 

"Aw, yeah! Just one left and it's hero time!" Ben boasted. To prevent further damage, the Vulpimancer was surrounded by a ring of creeping green crystal. 

"Nice doggy.. good doggy.." Gwen attempted to reason. The alien responded, eagerly lapping her face and showering it in thick drool. "Ugh! Gross!" Sniffing the air, the canid alien inched toward the two human children. It snarled, then with a series of curious pants, leapt at Ben. 

"Yeesh. Talk about a sudden movement." Gwen chided. The Omnitrix-bearer was nervous- its sharp teeth and cud-like drool was an inch to his face. Tetrax and Gwen flinched. Ben knew Wildmutt, and he knew him well- this beast could maul him at any second. 

What came instead was much less lethal- the alien's panting changed to that of excitement, and nuzzling against the fabric of Ben's shirt, it started to sniff him, the gusts of hot air blowing against his tummy. 

"Nnghh! Gh-hh-Ahah-Hh--" 

Gritting his teeth, it didn't take long before he'd burst into loud, embarrassing laughter. 

"AH-hah-ha-ha-HAHA! Hehe-haha- Te-hetrax! Make him stohohop!" 

Tetrax stood, smiling innocently. Boyish laughter urged the Vulpimancer to lean in closer and pepper Ben with slobbering dog-kisses, much to Gwen's delight- this was perfect blackmail material. 

"Aw, who's a good boy? Whooo's a good boy? Who loves torturing my doofus cousin? You do, ooooooh, yes, you do!" Gwen cooed, teasing Ben with wriggly fingers. 

"Gaha-guh-Gwen! J-Juhust ge-heh-het Wildmutt offa mehe-hehe!" 

"What's that? The doofus says he likes it?" She chided. 

"Now, now, don't tease him too much. Scanning mode will trigger soon." Tetrax responded, ceasing playing dumb. 

Ben bucked, as the Vulpimancer's head wormed its way into his armpit, instinctively causing him to conk it on its skull with the Omnitrix. The watch glowed a dim orange as a robotic voice reverbrated-

 "Scanning mode engaged." Finally. Both Tetrax and Gwen helped the mushy, giggly puddle on the floor which was Ben Tennyson up. Panting in relief, the tingly, shaggy sensation passed. The Omnitrix was complete, and it was safe travels back from here- safe, long, travels where Gwen wouldn't let him live this down.  

(this picture looks really stupid HAHA)

Despite the wide range of useful alien heroes in the Omnitrix, it was no secret that Ben had a clear bias towards Four-Arms- what more could you want? Heck, the guy was hulked out, with four knuckle sandwiches at the ready- and his strength could fare useful for any situation.. especially annoying Gwen. The cousins were tasked to work together on setting up camp, and knowing them, things would only take a turn for the worse. Littered across the campsite were pinewood not yet built into a campfire and tents left unpitched- all because the two were too busy squabbling. 

"...What part of "pitch a tent" do you not understand, bonehead!?" Gwen nagged, hands on hips. 

"Grandpa said that was your job! Remind me who helped gather the firewood earlier?" 

"Four-Arms." she chided. "It's not fair! You get to go hero and I've gotta do everything myself!" Just as fate had intended, the Omnitrix sparked green once again, and Ben gave a mischievous grin, making the redhead want to swallow her words. 

"Oh, I'll have fun showing you what else he can do!" He wiggled his fingers, pressing the watch dial down. In a flash of quick metamorphosis, the boy emerged as- 

"CANNONBOLT!?"  

"Hah! Please. Like that thing can pitch a tent." 

Ben, disappointed with the form he had taken, looked down at his radish-like feet, then back up at his armor plated shoulders- then his fluffy claws... and a devious idea hatched in his spherical head. Grabbing Gwen, Cannonbolt curled up halfway, and though she couldn't see it through her predicament, there was a wide, fanged smirk across his face. 

"AH!! Whatever you're doing, don't even-" 

"Too late! Tickle-tickle tickle tickle-tickle.." His four-pronged claws wormed their way into Gwen's shirt, scribbling and squeezing against her sides while their unbearable fur fluffed against her midsection. Her tummy jerked around as she writhed and threw her head back. 

"Ggg-rr-HHH!!-Hh-HAHAHA-hahahEEEEK! Eeee- Sss-HH-Stoppit! Put me dOHOWN!" 

"Hmm... no. Unless.." Laying on his plated shell, Cannonbolt remained nonchalant as Gwen squealed, cackled and bargained. He upped the ante, lightly tracing over her navel and going over her shirt to poke at every individual rib while she was held snug in a bear-hug. "You let me go hero." 

"Nnnnn-NEHE-Never!" Fighting the press of its claws, Gwen put up a fight- only urging Ben to further egg her on. Bad idea. 

"Well, in that case..." A barrage of quick, spiderlike claw-movements were skidding and skittering around Gwen's tummy. The pine forest clearing around them were as much as a wreck for once, and a familiar voice boomed from within the trees louder than her laughter. 

"Benjamin. Kirby. Tennyson." Grandpa Max scolded. Gwen and Cannonbolt stood like deer in headlights, darting their eyes along the mangled campsite. At least there was someone who could keep Ben in check.

Nothing in the Rustbucket worked like it was supposed to. Flushing the toilet was a three-man effort, the oven would start sparking when the stove was on, and most inconveniently, opening the fridge cut the air conditioning- which was left running as the Tennysons trekked back from a strenuous hike at the Grand Canyon, and to their dismay, Ben and Gwen were greeted by a snail trail of melted ice-cream stretching from the faulty fridge.

“Aw, man! That was our only real food!” Ben whined, wiping his brow, standing at the puddle like it was blood at a crime scene. Gwen stood next to him, equally distraught, as the chunks of cookies and cream barely reached their shoes.

“Yeah, if only SOMEONE didn't leave the AC on!” she snapped.

"Oh, that's an easy fix. A little Grey Matter'll work wonders!” The tiny trooper jumped up onto the kitchenette’s counter, over the stove and made a springy leap up to the top of the fridge and launched himself toward the dusty air vent. Incessantly technobabbling to himself, Gwen looked up with a little too much faith in him. 

"You know, I think this is one of the only good ideas you've had all summer.." 

Grey Matter crawled, slimy hands soldering wires to the best of its abilities. Almost there. Wiping out gunk from crevices without breaking a sweat, his sagacity was paying off well.

“I think it’s working!” exclaimed Gwen, a moment too soon.

“Just a clean around the filter, and..” Red light creeped through the vent as a low jitter signaled the Omnitrix’s cooldown. There was a thud- and Ben’s lower half stuck out through the roof, leaving the air conditioner in worse condition. 

"-Unf! Oooowww!!" 

Stuck in the vent from his shoulders up, he could do nothing but kick and flail- as Gwen erupted in mocking laughter. 

"Hey, hey! Help! Seriously! Stop laughing and let me down! Ugh, I'm telling on you!" Ben whined and kicked at Gwen's face, unaware. 

"Oh, I'll help you down, alright.." Her smug smirk, one of pure, unadulterated childlike mischief, was out of sight, which left Ben oblivious to the assault that was to come. Yanking his shoes off with a struggle, and swiftly, her shifting fingers swooped along his socked feet.  This was so worth losing an entire tub of ice cream.

"WAIT!!- Nnng- heh-HUH-hahaha-Whahaha-what gi-HI-hihives!?" 

"I'm just helping you down, what's with the attitude? Do you want to spend the rest of summer vacation with your head up a vent like an ostrich!?" Gwen played dumb, almost-reluctantly sliding off Ben's left sock, nimble fingers flossing through toes, ringing unrelenting laughter. 

"Ggh-HAH-haha-HA!! Stohop making f-huhun of me!" With each trace at the arch and dig at the toes, his face flushed from above. Gripping desperately onto the roof, he thrashed, threatening to crash on the carpet. 

"I bet there's a spell in here somewhere.." pondered Gwen. 

"nn-NNN-PLEAHASENO!" In fear of the mere suggestion, Ben fell facefirst into the confection on the carpet. Holding back giggles, Gwen walked away as he grumbled. 

They wouldn't be getting any cool air for days.

"G-AAAAAAH!!" 

A failed leap of faith sent Gwen, donning the Lucky Girl mask, careening down the Seattle Space Needle hopelessly, just barely escaping Charmcaster and her bag of tricks. Her own hero exploits were as infrequent as they were dangerous- which was why, for safety's sake, she would be frequently accompanied by Ben.

"huh-huh-Phew..-whoo-.." 

As her arms flailed in an ostrichlike attempt in flight, Stinkfly's gangly hands had grabbed her mid-air, a light buzz coming from his insectoid wings. Gwen was safe and sound- but his putrid smell couldn't escape her. 

"I really saved your butt there, didn't I?" his phlegmy voice reverbrated, Charmcaster's flying golems hot on their trail. They weren't any trouble- they were easily apprehended by the goop from his eyestalks. 

"Yeah, but you really didn't need to smell like one! Now, hurry!" As they lost the evil enchantress, Gwen sassed and the duo flew toward the Rustbucket. Manoeuvreing over buildings with beating wings and showing off to onlookers, Ben was taking his sweet time for someone she told to hurry.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "What part of hurry don't you under-ST-eEK! " With a mischievous smirk, Stinkfly's legs reached over to poke at Gwen's middle- exposed from the wind blowing against her costume. Letting go of one arm, its brittle claw wormed (insect pun) into her armpit.

 "Ahaha-HA! Y-yooo-you-hoo-hoo STINK!" she bucked. 

"I know!" Keeping it up, two legs squeezed at the midriff like dough, while another set prodded at her ribs. "Not so lucky, are you now? Are you?" Even in a repulsive form, Ben still couldn't help but boast. 

"Ghh-AHAHA-Heh-sto-STAHAHAP!" Gwen cackled. Fortunately, he heeded her demand- but only when they noticed Charmcaster, brandishing her magical bag behind them. Glowing red, the Omnitrix cooled down. Trouble. 

"Looks like Lucky Girl has a weakness!.." she cooed. "And, oh, would you look at that! I have just the thing.." As wriggly, teasing stone hands flew towards Gwen, she couldn't help but grumble under her breath. Cousins.

(I ran out of "good" aliens.)

(also Gwendolyn's design is just so fucking good I literally love it for reasons I can't explain)

Another time adventure was the perfect opportunity to whisk Ben and Gwen away from a lunch of fried grasshoppers. Though their presence would cause many, many timeline discrepancies, they were the key to thwarting a major anomaly in Ben 10,000's way ..but their importance wouldn't stop the two from running amok in his headquarters. The two marveled at their own accomplishments, their egoes only expanding in the process. 

"Woah! I get to learn more spells?" Gwen leafed through collections of magical runes, unusually eager. A slew of scrolls rolled off onto the metallic floor making a mess. "And that's my black belt!" 

"Another hoverboard? Oh-ho-HO, check it out!" Pushing buttons and flipping switches they shouldn't have, the cousins made a mess of the tall tower- and it wasn't long before their future selves stepped up from the elevator doors, glaring dourly. 

"What have we told you two about not touching anything?" reprimanded the older Ben. "That was a present from New Petropia!" 

"You too, Gwen." Gwendolyn deadpanned. "You know, I'd think us- you out of all people would know better." 

"Ugh, jeez! Guess you're still no fun.." The ten-year-old Ben rolled his eyes, blowing a raspberry at his elder- who exchanged a sly, knowing smirk with Gwendolyn.

"Well, we do know a thing or two about fun..." In the blink of an eye, Future-Ben went Four-Arms, holding his younger self up by the wrists with his first pair of arms. Gwendolyn straddled the latter cousin's legs with a wry smile. 

"Consider this revenge." she teased, baring her long nails at Gwen, tracing, scribbling and spidering over her sides. Four-Arms, bigger and more rugged than he was in the past, dug into Ben's ribcage and armpits, just harsh enough to be unbearably soft. 

"Wha-What are you- Wait! No! We're really so-HORRY! Ah! Haha-hah-heh-HA!" Gwen pleaded through laughter, throwing her head back as her older self dug into her armpits while she thrashed with every touch. 

"Ple-HEASE! I'm -huh- not gonna-ha-ha- touch yo-hour stuff! You're gonna KI-HEHE-HILL ME!" 

"No use bargaining, shrimp." Changing form, a (new!) agile simian alien emerged and webbed Ben up. "I call him Spidermonkey." Its tail yanked his shoes off, and eight fluffy fingers spidered over his soles. Hitting the floor, he thrashed in silky bonds as one of many new forms exploited weaknesses that he himself knew better than anyone. 

"Just s-huh-SE-hehend us to the Null Vo-hoi-d ahat thi-his point!" 

"We're just getting started! I've got 9,998 heroes left!" 

"You know, Gwen.. great point earlier. I did get to learn more spells. Esthesio Pluma!" The younger redhead gulped, preparing for the worst. Fluffy feathers descended out of nowhere, flitting and floating at the flick of Gwendolyn's wrist. They ghosted over her stomach, telekinetically flying into her shirt to fluff at her belly button. The other plumes brushed over her neck in slow methodical fashion, and into her armpits. 

"AH-hehe-HEH-hehehe! Lemme GO-hoho! You've behehe-heen through this!" Gwen reasoned, attempting to swat away the feathers, curling up into a kicky ball. 

"Should we let up?" Nonchalantly, the older Ben rasped whilst running around in XLR8's form, waggling his tail quickly over his younger self's stomach while his claws targeted multiple spots simultaneously.  

"We don't want us to suffer forever.." Gwendolyn assured, relinquishing control of the floating feathers. As quickly as he started, XLR8 stopped, reverting back into Ben. The past-cousins had a moment to catch their winded breath before getting back on their feet. 

"-huff- I'll get me back someday.. Maybe.. now!" Just as Ben was about to slam his watch, his future self poked him on the stomach. "-y-IEEK!" 

"If you tried, we'd know." she jeered. 

----------------------------------------------

and that's the end of that! damn, that last one was long. back to requests!

[neongreenllama]

trick or treat!!! 🧡👻

CAT!!! I am so excited you decided to drop by because I do have a very special treat just for you 🍭

_

“He’s just so mysterious. And he was so cute, asking me if I was alright.”

While they were walking down the dimly lit street, Sirius went on about the stranger he’d accidentally run into at a protest yesterday. They’d both stumbled a bit and the stranger had smiled at him, asked him if he was alright, and then kept running.

“He has a pretty smile too.”

“How do you know how what his smile looks like, he was wearing a mask.”

Sirius shrugged. “Yeah, but I could tell there was a cute smile underneath. Also, I could hear it in his voice.”

James gave him a weird look as they stopped at another streetlamp. Sirius distractedly took out another FCK NZS sticker and handed it to him.

James slapped it on the post and they kept walking.

“He was tall,” he added dreamily.

“Was he?”

Sirius ignored him, took out a Be gay, do crime sticker and stuck it on another lamppost while walking.

“And he had a bit of a dialect, I wonder where he’s from,” he continued. “Not from here anyway. Do you think we’ll see him again at the next one?”

“I have no idea, mate.”

After a few meters they stopped I front of a campaign poster.

“Ew,” Sirius said at the slogan.

“Yeah. Cross out?”

“Nah, let me.”

He took the spray paint bottle that James handed to him and with a leg-up they hoisted him up far enough so he could spray another slogan over the old one.

“Funny,” James commented on his art piece when Sirius was back on the ground.

“Thank you, I thought so too.”

He was about to take out a rainbow sticker and add it for good measure when the loud bang of a door startled them.

“Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

“Shit.”

They quickly packed up the spray bottle and bolted while the man in shorts ran on the street, throwing threats of calling the police and other things after them. While running Sirius thought about how romantic it would be to do this together with the mysterious stranger, perhaps as a first date?

[deb79ful]

Since I'm currently working on a few more art pieces that aren't ready to show yet, and am not sure about which of my old traditional pieces I want to share next, let's take a moment to appreciate this little piece:

This is the avatar I used for my secondary account on Twitter, one appropriately called "Deb79ful Switch Video Backup." As you could tell by the name, I used it as a place to dump the videos I recorded while playing on the Nintendo Switch, which I saved a lot of. And often, simply because I often wasn't motivated to post them, they would pile up until the 1,000 video cap, at which point I would just dump a massive backlog of vids all in one sitting. I did eventually catch up to the present day on that account! ...On June 9th, this year, the day before Twitter integration was discontinued for the Switch. Better late than never, I suppose! That account's gonna be a relic now, I suppose, just sitting there for all to witness the mundanities of a guy playing Sky, Pokemon, Tetris, F-Zero, Obakeidoro, Disney Speedstorm for a little while, the works. I'm still recording vids, obviously, though now they're just for my personal benefit. But maybe I'll post some of the new ones to here, instead! (Nah, my cred would plummet instantly if I start doing that /s) But yeah, here you can see how I drew a whole Switch for Ghostie to play, and you can probably see the reptile scale pattern used on my avatar (both this version and my normal version!) a little bit clearer. It's a nice effect, though admittedly one I don't use much for him in his recent digital art. Maybe I should use it more? (...Goodness, can't believe I put down that many words for an old avatar.)