stellar-collective

[stellar-collective]

Burning the Midnight Coal

Finally drew them and joined @stellar-collective's I Expect Yee to Haw AU! :D (It took longer than I'd like. XD)

Ameri and Florian discuss about the new sheriff's arrival late at night as they tried to pretend the town isn't as dangerous as it actually is.

Content Warnings: Discussion of corruption, mentions of other characters, affectionate couples

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"Go to sleep." Florian mumbled, getting up from their shared bed as she gave her husband a wry smile. "Come on. I think this town's got a lot of work going on as it is. You need rest too."

"I have to make sure we actually give the new sheriff something to actually work with. You know the nightmare that is the first week when we arrived here. The old sheriff wasn't even there when we arrived. It was a mess and we didn't know where to start." Green eyes met brown ones under the light of the oil lamp. "If they're actually one of the good ones, it would help loosen Zoraxis' hold on this place much sooner. And just maybe, neither of us will be looking over our shoulders at night anymore."

"The sheriff, even if they do arrive as soon as possible might take a while to end up in this town. The main station's a bit away from here. I... haven't been out and about as either of us would have liked." She put her arms around him as she used the chair's back as a chin rest.

"You'd always been a bit of a homebody." The smile on his face can't be mistaken as he tried to stop a fond sigh from escaping his lips. "But I prefer it that way."

"Why? Can't stand it when your wife makes too much progress for you to catch up?"

"More on I can't stand the possibility of knowing you could come across something that causes people to target you based on what you know." Ameri sighed, turning towards her before pulling her into his arms. "I'd rather not go through that again."

"Well, we can't rely on vigilantes, you know? Or any bountry hunters. As helpful as they are, Zor could toss that evidence out since they could argue it was obtained illegally." Florian rested her head on his shoulder with ease. "That's why we're here."

He held her hand, making sure to intertwine their fingers together. "I know. I just... Well, I just wish this ends. I have so much work to do. We have so much work to do."

Florian smiled at her fretful husband, taking her free hand to cup his cheek. "I'm not letting you run on fumes. Go to sleep. You don't want people to see you sleepy and assume you can get things past you, hm?"

"Alright. I do have to be witness to some biddings for the contractors. But we all know Zor controls pretty much all of them."

She chuckled. "We don't have proof of that. Now, go to sleep. You need to have a fresh mind, alright?"

"Alright. Goodnight." He gently got off his desk and turned off the lamp, careful to avoid dropping her as they went back to bed. "I still have some theives and vigilantes to bust tomorrow."

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Here's them with my drawing skills:

Here's their Gacha visualizations for their usual daily outfits. :3 (Closer in color to me.)

I hope they turned out well!

General Information about the two:

Ameri "Smitten" Brantley:

The sheriff's office clerk. Probably that person who people speak to when surrendering troublemakers in the jailhouse. Handles a lot of the bookkeeping and records.

Took on his wife's last name. (He doesn't like his family. Rumors suggest he's taken on a different first name too.) (Reference to how he goes by "Allen" presently due to the incident.)

Despite often being the negotiator for minor disputes between townsfolk, he secretly dreads that part of responsibility.

Know for being smitten with his wife and is nicknamed as such. (Also why he's called Agent Smitten in the OG timeline prior to the events of the first game. :3)

Wears a cowboy hat outside but is often indoors so he doesn't have it. It matches the color of his holster. (Which he often doesn't wear out in the open as well.)

Actually sent by the agency to investigate if the assigned is actually doing their job properly. Despite that, he's fairly objective in assessment and would request for additional help from the agency if the need arises.

Is the illegitimate child between two prominent families. Often materially provided for but grew up with little love.

Floriana "Florian" Brantley:

The clerk's wife. Usually keeps to herself most days but does approach the older women for survival tips and tricks.

Secretly a ghostwriter that takes the complaints from the townsfolk and write it in a way that makes it hard to debunk. Often goes on independent investigations if there aren't enough details.

Knows swear words but refuses to say it.

Can be seen wandering around town, often hanging around contaminated water. Often takes notes of the contamination levels on a regular basis.

Has an umbrella to smack people with. There are contradictory rumors on whether she uses the umbrella as a cane or not. She doesn't clarify.

Often known as that one wife who cooks extra so there's always something for any unexpected visitors.

Is the second to youngest child among four children. Parents are still alive and they keep minimal contact via letters.

Both:

Are often seen together on the weekends and clearly a couple in love.

Most townsfolk are ambivalent towards them. They know they can come to either of them but the pair often keeps to themselves that the townsfolk only ever interact when someone's in danger or in need of help.

Rumors on their reason for coming here include: elopement, offending the wrong person (the demotion in job title but not salary adds fuel to the fire), and escaping Ameri's family as he holds his parents in deep contempt when they are brought up but shows fondness for Florian's.

Both keep copies of two ledgers: The first being the public one, mostly Zoraxis approved, and the second, secret, one that actually contains the details of the crimes that Zor would want covered up. Their home has a lot of false bottow drawers and wall compartments to serve as a hiding place.

I'll think of more bits of lore for them but if anyone wants to make them interact with people, feel free. Additional Headcanons here.

Someone has to do the boring stuff like paperwork and records so I'm shoving this pair in that role.

[stellar-collective]

Phoenix was warm, tucking perfectly beneath his chin as their arms tightened around him. They were close enough that he could smell their shampoo underneath the tang of smoke that seemed to follow them everywhere.

Ollie had become a little extra aware of physical contact after those long, lonely months in the lab. He’d almost forgotten what touch even felt like until Phoenix had burst into his life and started bumping shoulders and brushing knuckles and taking him by the arm to show him things. He was pretty sure that this wasn’t even their first hug.

But as far as he could remember, it had never felt like that before.

He didn’t know what made it different. Maybe they’d caught him off-guard. Maybe it was the relief of a harrowing adventure concluded. Or maybe, after admitting that he’d been worried about them, he could admit to some other things, too.

Maybe— oh.

Huh! Yeah, that would explain a couple things.

…What was he going to do about it?

first ~ prev ~ next

good job bud! only took you 35 parts!

ALRIGHT GUYS LISTEN UP!!! the way that the timing has worked out, i’ve made a decision: the next two weeks are both going to be DOUBLE FEATURES!! that’s right, as we’re coming up on the end of the storyline, next week Ollie at the Agency will be dropping on both TUESDAY AND THURSDAY! the week after that will have the final part (wow!) on the usual Thursday, and then hopefully i’ll be posting the epilogue that Saturday!! i’ll see you then >:D

[stellar-collective]

Seeing all the short Peanut jokes got me wondering what your Phoenix's height was.

Seeing they were 5'5 felt like getting hit by a bus- Seraphina's a whopping 5'3, 5'4 on a good day- granted she wears heels, but still-

Short nation??? I guess???????

truly the funniest part of this whole debacle is that Peanut is roughly the same height or taller than MOST of the people who are joking about it. and yet. AND YET—

[stellar-collective]

I think Flor would be more confused on why Pea gets the short jokes despite the fact they're of a similar height.

(But they're wondering if the "food bribe" they gave helped with not getting that. XD)

i’m now imagining a scenario where Peanut also asks that question and so Pea and Fe end up back to back to see just how close in height they really are and it’s so close that they can’t tell the difference or maybe Fe is even a little bit shorter but Wraith or whoever is judging says “nope Fe is wayyyyy taller, it wouldn’t even make SENSE to make a short joke about them!” and Peanut is just like “COME ON THAT IS NOT TRUE AHDLAHKAJS”

[stellar-collective]

Little late to the party but whatever. Joining @stellar-collective 's western au!

My Phoenix is a bounty hunter that works discreetly with Sheriff Crane. Though they are good at their job, they will often find themself into trouble, both with Zor's goons and the law. Most of the time they can get out of any trouble they find, but every now and then Reggie's gotta bail them out.

Gibson was once Juniper's right hand man, traveling alongside The Shootin' Star wherever he went. One day the traveling singer crossed the wrong people. When the consequences of his actions finally caught up to them, he ran and Gibson was left for dead. He survived, though he lost his hand and his respect for who he thought was his friend.

Phoenix's current assignment is to track down The Shootin' Star, who has been quite a headache for them. They walk into a saloon and almost immediately recognize Gibson as Juniper's right hand man. They get into a fight that ends in both of them getting arrested. In the jailhouse, Phoenix learns what happened between him and his old boss.

Gibson: That b*stard is dead to me...What I wouldn't give to see him get what he deserves...

After Sheriff Crane comes to their rescue, they decide that they're gonna work together to give Johnny Boy some payback!

[stellar-collective]

Unfortunately for Peanut getting called short is based entirely on how much Wraith thinks it would annoy someone. Flor gives the vibe that she would brush it off. Peanut doesn’t XD

PFFTT YEAH THEY GET SO MAD like Peanut knows full well that their over the top reactions are actively encouraging the teasing but at this point they’re doing it on purpose bc they’re addicted to annoying bits

[stellar-collective]

YOU KNOW MOSS???? YAYYYYYYY

YESSSSSS ONE OF MY FAV GAMES EVERRRRRRR i would DIE for that little mouse i love it sososososo much

[stellar-collective]

I just realized something for the I Expect You To Haunt AU. Since Fabricator has a cat in the typical AU, does that mean ghost!Fabricator is fond of cats too? Can stray cats be found inside so Phoenix and Reggie have to guess if things moving around is her or if it was a cat?

(Sending this as an ask because this is better shared imho. XD)

ooh good question! i think that the answer is a little mixed; i think that ghost!Fabby still certainly has a soft spot for them but ghosts can’t really… engage with the real world to the point that they can interact with animals independently. she’d shoo any of the strays hanging around out of the way of her death traps, at least!

[stellar-collective]

oooooooohohoho i expect you to haunt!! it’s been a while since i drew ghosts so i’m excited >:D

okay with Ollix week coming up i have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION

[stellar-collective]

Whose Candle Will You Snuff Out?

While Matchstick and Rubble are away on a mission, trouble is brewing in the R&D Department. This ends in Zoraxis' casino with a certain 38.

Operative 38 belongs to @silverdragon889, Matchstick AU belongs to @stellar-collective (but Matchstick doesn't appear in this for now.)

Content Warning: Zoraxis being Zoraxis, Death, Poison, Emotional Blackmail, Candlelight goes through it, loneliness, nausea, Daniel Sans (I finally wrote him. XD), pointing people out to save yourself (historical trauma flavored. :3), discussions of corporate exploitation, implied cronyism, dissociation, self-loathing (obviously. This is the misery AU.)

Put the AO3 Link here because I definitely went dark here.

Tag List for the Matchstick AU: @pandagobrr, @phoenix-and-found-family, @warden-draws-sometimes, @ghostlystarwanderer, @agentpheoness, @agent-nor

Tag List for my usual stuff:

@the-one-and-only-043, @blueorchid-95, @tillywunderwing, @dandorime, @juniperfan16, @jellyfishgummy, @warden-draws-sometimes, @definitelyunhingedagentphoenix, @crazy-valley, @sleepywillowo0o

[stellar-collective]

Phoenix had realized what was going on the second that Reginald’s comm got compromised. Zoraxis had discovered a weakness, and that weakness would be exploited for all that it was worth.

Phoenix remembered being left alone with only the static buzzing in their ear for company and just one thought blaring in their mind.

They’re going to hurt him. They’re going to hurt him in order to make me hurt everyone else.

Phoenix had unlimited access to all sorts of classified files; experiments, passwords, stuff that could be used as blackmail. Keys to every Agency Headquarters in the world. The agents they were friends with, the leadership, the other handlers— Zor could make them hand over files on all of them. They could find out that Juniper was alive and that Phoenix knew his address.

They could barely cope with what was happening to Reginald. What if Zor made them hurt Ollie?

No. No, no, no. They had to try and prevent as much damage as possible. Zor couldn’t make them hand over things that they didn’t have. So they’d made the call.

They didn’t expect how impossible of a problem it would be to solve on their own. They shuddered to think what would’ve happened if they hadn’t broken down and gone to Ollie.

But as they shook their handler’s hand, they knew it was over. Things could be okay again, at least for a while.

They’d been lucky. Extremely lucky. And they were grateful for that.

But as their eyes flicked over to Ollie, smiling at their side, Phoenix couldn’t help wishing that they were just a tiny bit luckier.

first ~ prev ~ next

and that’s the end of Operation: Paper Crane! don’t worry, we’ve still got a little ways to go…

[stellar-collective]

okay with Ollix week coming up i have a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION

[stellar-collective]

More I Expect Yee to Haw Headcanons

Blame this post by @silverdragon889 for this. Here are some of my personal headcanons for Florian and Ameri (plus Sekie). (I'll finish their designs one day, I swear.)

Phina belongs to @agent-calivide, Damien belongs to @silverdragon889, Trevor belongs to @phoenix-and-found-family, Peanut belongs to @stellar-collective, Wraith belongs to @agentwraith

Damien and Florian occasionally converse in Spanish but due to some regional differences, there has been hilarious miscommunication situations sometimes.

Phina and Ameri never met prior to Zoraxis but the chances of them recognizing each other's last names if revealed is around 80% to 90%. Both have the vibes of knowing they walked in similar circles. Ameri was hidden away from the rest of the social circle due to his status as an illegitimate child but heard Phina's family name from his caretakers.

Trevor occasionally stops by for dinner at Florian and Ameri's place. Damien as well. It's a neutral zone for them since neither wants to be uninvited.

Peanut sometimes worries about Florian's less-than-safe-for-self information gathering due to their first meeting occurring in less than ideal circumstances. (Florian was hanging around clearly contaminated water and Peanut thought they were doing something dangerous. It was a misunderstanding.) Florian also worries when they hear of Peanut being in the area of Zoraxis activity due to how dangerous it is. (They won't admit to that.)

Wraith, Trevor, and Damien are sources of stress for Ameri because he's one of the poor souls assigned to document the incidents and file the papers to record everything.

Sekie's less-than-approved actions is suspected to be foul play but Ameri and Florian took the "I didn't see anything" approach.

Florian acts like a ghostwriter for some of the citizens due to how Zor likely controlled education and literacy as they understand the laws a bit more. This likely caused several people to view them with suspicion at first due to the fact they do sneak out at night to listen to the stories and write it down. They're also recording the water contamination levels to build a case.

As much as Ameri wants to trust Peanut, Phina, and Reginald, his last time reporting Zoraxis' crimes caused a "demotion" in name, a near death experience for both him and his wife, and a relocation. He'll likely only reveal the ledger of the actual records after he knows they're actually trying to stop Zoraxis, not just claiming they are. Burned once in that aspect. Anyone looking through his desk would see the Zoraxis-approved ledger if they don't know where to find the false bottom.

Despite having a similar height as Peanut, Florian has yet to get a shortie joke from Trevor and Wraith.

Florian is terrible at hand to hand combat and often aims to end fights before they start. But their aim is pretty great. Kinda. They can throw stones well. Not sure if that translates well with a gun.

Ameri's aim with a gun is decent to be enough cover in a gunfight. But he's not as sharp as John Juniper or Trevor. He prefers to hide behind walls and shoot from there.

Ameri and Florian are said to have eloped and it's a mix of yes and no. Yes because Ameri's parents likely would not have approved (but since they didn't raise him, their opinion didn't matter to him. He would have cut contact by the time he joined the agency) and No because Florian's parents and siblings were present at the ceremony and accepted him as part of the family.

Florian admires Dr. Prism's work and tried to help with the patents but couldn't without exposing they knew more than they let on. They regretted this move some days. Both have disagreements on what "legacy" means, with Florian thinking it's a burden and Dr. Prism's thinking it's something to pass on. The two aren't on speaking terms.

Reginald sees Florian at least once a week due to the fact they stop by to give Ameri his lunch. (And the incident reports collected throughout the week for him to compile in the real ledger and make a copy of it just in case.)

That's all I got for now. :3 If anyone wants to add to the headcanons, feel free to share it. And please correct me if I got something wrong.

[stellar-collective]

I Expect Yee to Haw Headcanons!

Featuring @calivide @stellar-collective @agentwraith and @eod-agent-13-12 !!!

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

These are some personal headcanons for my Phoenix, Damien (aka Bluejay)!

You can tell which of Zor's lackeys have fought Bluejay based on their injuries- damaged knees, cracked ribs, and broken noses are very good signs of having tussled and lost with the vigilante. He knows how to scrap- and it's not how HARD you hit, but WHERE. He's very good at it.

There was one time he got a bit too cocky with his titles writing articles for the paper, so Zoraxis decided to give him a warning by trapping him in a building. He can't have any association with his vigilante self, so he was MAD at having to sit and twiddle his thumbs for what may as well be *days*. But it didn't take long for Peanut and Reggie to bust him out, which endeared the two to him.

He met Oscar Tense after saving him from an attempt on his life via Fabricator. They've been lovebirds ever since, and Oscar is the only one who knows Bluejay and Damien are one and the same.

Bluejay'll sometimes run interference behind the scenes when he gets word that Peanut and Reggie might be overwhelmed. He never tells them about this.

He affectionately pesters Phina for funsies 🙃

Sometimes he'll write about Wraith in the paper, hyping her up to be scarier than she is as an apology for occasionally disruptung her plans.

He has a tattoo.

He has his 2 pet snakes and 2 pet scorpions like he does in my canon timeline. I don't think the folks in town quite know why the critters act as loyal as they do. He doesn't either, really. (They just think their silly human is neat XD)

Don't ever ask him what happened to his family. He won't tell you.

He annoys the HECK out of Ameri by leaving evidence of Zor's crimes on his porch like a cat bringing mice to their owner 😼

If YOU have any HC about Damien, feel free to share!

[stellar-collective]

i lied ollix tomorrow

swap au today

other phoenixes include @stellar-collective’s swap!phoenix and @silverdragon889’s swap!phoenix

shitty concept for game and also full doodle page… below

if you wanna know more about my swap phoenix my asks are always open… along with art requests… heh..

[stellar-collective]

Matchstick learning that Phoenix and Ollie are dating and genuinely happy together like: *through gritted teeth* I'm so happy for you and your ugly fucking boyfriend I'm serious

(I don't know if you've decided whether Ollix is a thing in the matchstick au but it would def be an extra little stab of hurt for both Matchstick themself AND the au's Ollie if it was. Like. Here's yet another way in which this world turned out so much better than yours. They're happy. They trust each other. They love each other. And you'll never have that with him/them.)

(It wasn't that he was better off without you. You were just the wrong kind of you for it to work.)

(HAHA ANYWAYS FUNNY JOKE FUNNY GOOF AMIRIGHT)

OH YOU GET IT. YOU GET ITTTTTTTT ALHFKSHSKJSLAKSK THAT’S EXACTLY IT OH MY GOSH. matchstick!ollix is so freaking doomed in every way haha :3

[stellar-collective]

Wait How does Charlie being Phoenix's half-brother effect the Matchstick au?

not all that much, to be honest.

Matchstick’s real name isn’t on record anywhere, so Charlie would have no way of knowing that they’re related. Matchstick would figure it out, of course, but i highly doubt they would tell him.

what’s it matter that they have a brother? he wasn’t there to help them when they really needed it. besides, Charlie’s got a good position and is pretty well-liked. the last thing he needs is to be associated with someone like Matchstick. it’s better for both of them if Matchstick keeps their distance.