#Emptober

[tev-the-random]

Emptober Day 2 - Flying

Witch goes nyooom-

No blur version:

[favoriteginger]

Day 4 - Fire

[saffsketches]

day 2! false having some second thoughts abt building wings from dreamt up blueprints

image id: a drawing of empires false symmetry standing against a backdrop of a blue sky, with two bat-like wings made of metal and canvas strapped to her back. she has aviator goggles pulled over her eyes and an uncertain expression as she looks down. laid over the drawing is text reading "day #2: flying"

[peakdeer]

Day 16 - Short

“I am not short!” Joel protested, waving his arms above his head as if trying to make himself look bigger. “I am a perfectly normal height!”

“Yeah, sorry Joel, you’re short. Only Shrub is shorter than you!” Fwhip snorted.

“No! I am taller than more people than Shrub! I’m not that short!” Joel argued, stepping into Fwhip’s face. Just for good measure, he stepped on his toes as well. He opened his mouth to say something else, likely threats, but he was stopped by Jimmy speaking.

“Actually, no, no—height check! Height check! How tall is everyone?” Jimmy interrupted, turning around to look at them all curiously.

“Oh, sure, the tall people want to know how short everybody else is,” Sausage snarked, sticking his tongue out at Jimmy. Shrub let out an offended noise at that, shaking her little fist at Jimmy.

“That’s not what I meant!” Jimmy protested, smacking Sausage on the head jokingly. “I’m genuinely curious!”

Shrub eyed him skeptically, before turning to look at Sausage. They had a silent convo for a minute before Shrub nodded and Sausage followed her lead. “I suppose,” Sausage declared stiffly, lifting his head up.

They shuffled around for a few minutes, trying to get into a correct order. Joel kept trying to get to the front of the line, the little bastard, and had to be threatened with being put in the shortest spot if he didn’t stop.

They finally got into a correct line, glancing at each other curiously to see where they were in line. Lizzie was the tallest, of course—she’s a ten-foot goddess, who else would be there? Jimmy was second at a solid eight feet. Not nearly as tall as his sister, but still a decent height for the damaged egg. Scott slotted into third at six and a half feet, being an elf. He had apparently decided to lord this over everyone else in the line, grinning smugly and completely ignoring the two people who he was not taller than. Pearl was next at six foot five, remarkably tall for a human even if Gilded Helanthians were a tall breed. She refused to share her secrets, grinning teasingly at her friends with all good fun in mind. Katherine was fifth, only an inch shorter than Pearl. That was reasonable, though, seeing as Katherine was a flower fae. Fae always tended to be taller than most others. Gem and Fwhip were tied at six foot, despite Gem’s claims that Fwhip was an inch shorter, being identical twins in all except gender—and their hybrid halves, but once you ignored that, they were identical! …Sort of. Sausage squeaked in at eighth with five foot nine, shorter than his adopted siblings. It wasn’t his fault that they were absurdly tall—he himself was taller than average, he just had the bad luck of being friends with a bunch of people who were absurdly tall. Pix was barely a fraction of an inch shorter than Sausage, and at times appeared taller than him. It’s probably just a prophet thing, though. However that worked. Joey was next at five foot eight, a reasonable height for a human, even if he insisted he was half elemental, which he was not. Joel was second to last with five feet four inches, scowling at them all and daring them to say anything. Shrub, of course, was the shortest, certainly taller than three feet but not quite four feet.

“Didn’t expect Sausage to be that short,” Jimmy commented, laughing when Sausage trained a death glare on him.

“Now you listen here—” Sausage started, cut off by Jimmy speaking again.

“Not that you’re short!” Jimmy protested quickly, waving his hands desperately to stop Sausage. “You’re about average! Just, I’d expected you to be taller.” Sausage settled back, grumbling under his breath. “Besides, Joel’s the shortest, with the exception of Shrub, but she has an excuse.”

Joel burst into angry screeches, shaking his fists at Jimmy. “Oh, you little—I’m going to kill you, I will kill you!” Joel rushed towards Jimmy, tackling his and pulling at his collar with his little hands as if trying to strangle him.

Jimmy fell backward laughing, trying to pull Joel off of him with little success. A few others stepped in to help, and they soon ended in a pile on the ground. With these emperors, nothing was ever normal or mundane, no matter how simple is sounded. Not even height checking. Honestly, they acted like preschoolers sometimes!

…Xornoth would have been in second at six feet, six inches, and six tenths of an inch. He loved to joke about being ever so slightly taller than his twin, and Scott hated it to the fullest extent. His jokes were all in good fin though, always friendly towards his younger twin—even if he was only younger by a few minutes.

Until he wasn’t.

[roxie-roo]

In Shelby's opinion, there was nothing better than curling up in bed with a good book. Sure, she never was one to bury herself into studies like the other witches at the academy, but she loved reading. She loved losing herself in fantastical worlds beyond anyone's comprehension. And what was even better, to her, was getting to share that joy with someone special.

Katherine.

Katherine was by far, the most special person Shelby had met in her short time getting to know the other rulers. She was.. gosh, she was just so wonderful.It was a quiet, calm night in the Evermoore, a rarity nowadays, what with the hauntings and suspicious fog. Tortoise was sat on top of the bookcase, watching. Observing. Possibly judging, Shelby could never really tell with him. Katherine was beside her, arms around her middle while Shelby rested against her chest, the book against her knees and open for them to both see. The Book Of Prophecies, Past & Future. It was an old, worn book, one that was difficult to properly read. But Shelby loved it.

"This is one of my favorites." She giggled, shifting her position against Katherine while she felt the princess start playing with her hair. "Unrequited love will be requited.. I dunno, I guess I'm just a hopeless romantic. But it makes me happy to see that sometimes, even in prophecies, love can find a way..." she blushed a little and looked up at Katherine. "That sounds so cheesy, doesn't it?"

"A little." Katherine agreed with a giggle of her own. "But it was sweet. And it's really cute."

"You think so?" Shelby went redder and hid it behind her book. "Gosh... I just- I dunno, I like stories like that.."

"Me too.." Katherine smiled down at her. "Me too.." it was a smile that seemed so knowing. At the same time, so.. oblivious.

Katherine was so hard to read. Did she know or not?

Shelby pushed those thoughts aside, and went back to the prophecy book, turning a few more pages.

"Oh, here's one I haven't seen... A great awakening will occur at sunrise within the mangrove forest..." she looked out the window at her swampy home. "What do you think that means...?"

"I dunno.." Katherine shrugged, looking out after her. The mangrove, from what Katherine had heard, was certainly Spooky at night. Maybe sunrise will be good for it? But there was of course, the still burning question. What was being awakened?

The two decided not to dwell on that tonight. They went back to the book, Shelby slowly falling asleep, resting against Katherine's chest and letting the book fall from her hands. Katherine smiled at the sight, picking up the book and setting it on the end table while she brought the blanket up over her and Shelby. Pressing a little kiss to her forehead, she slowly fell asleep herself.

[c-r-ash-crash]

Emptober Day Three: Novel

Pix brushed away some of the cobwebs from the edge of the window.  The glass had been surprisingly intact, perfectly preserved in its original frame.  Some of the original dye still clung to the glass, hinting at what the stained image may have looked at once upon a time.

He stood on the tips of his toes, reaching with one hand to remove the web, but it stubbornly refused to tear from the brick it was attached to.  Irritated, Pix sighed and set his candle down on the windowsill, while he yanked at the cobweb.

“Well, this is new,” a voice said.  Pix stumbled back, startled.  He lost his balance on the uneven ground, and fell flat on his butt.  He muttered a few choice words under his breath.  He picked himself off, and brushed himself off, hoping that whoever had spoken hadn’t seen his utter lack of grace.

He heard the person clear their throat, and he glanced towards the window.  His brow furrowed at the sight.  The figure looked like him, but…well for starters, his beard was neater.  He was dressed in flowing cotton robes rather than the adventure’s gear Pix sported.  He held a candle in his hands, just like the one Pix had set on the windowsill.  On his brow sat a delicate circle of copper.

“What are you?” Pix breathed, drawing closer to the window.  The figure smiled softly.  “We always had a knack for asking the hard questions right away, didn’t we?” they asked.  “There’s not one answer.  You could say I’m a ghost.  Or a memory.  Or a god.  All of them would be true.”

Pix rolled his eyes.  Would it kill people to be a little less cryptic sometimes?  The figure seemed to pick up on his irritation, and he chuckled fondly.  “In my homeland, we called our kind Prophet.  Honestly, I would have thought our line died out when Pixandria fell.  It seems I was wrong.”

“Who are you?” Pix demanded.  “You can call me The Copper King, as I imagine you have the name all Prophets are given,” the figure answered.  Great, more riddles.  Pix snorted, and again, the figure smiled in fondness.  “I promise you.  Answers will come in time.  But for now, continue as you have.  I’m sure you’ll see your first vision soon.”

Pix opened his mouth to ask what that meant, but he was cut off as The Copper King seemed to remember something.  “Oh, and Pixlriffs?  Do look out for Sausage if you can.  He’s always had a knack for getting himself in trouble.  I’d hate to see him get hurt again.”  And with that, the figure blew out their candle.  Pix’s candle flickered out at the same time, leaving him standing alone in the darkness.

Pix stood there for a moment, waiting for some other cryptic encounter.  But the night was silent, other than the sounds of the dodos in the orchards.  Well, it seemed Pix had some work to do.

[lilcaesarssuper]

Day 1: Trinket

(these are only gonna be sketches unless I decide otherwise)

HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON

[queercode-my-minecraft]

Does anyone know if Emptober’s returning this year?

[journeysfable]

Emptober Day 9: Sleep

False didn’t really take the time to make sure she looked nice. So when she caught her reflection while sharpening her sword, her appearance was a surprise. Because…

Since when did she have bags under her eyes? 

False had been sleeping well, right? She no longer had nightmares and she didn’t worry about being killed by the other emperors anymore. She went to sleep at dusk, and awoke at dawn. 

She nervously thought about how much seemed to change when she woke up. Like resources that lined up perfectly with what she wanted to build, which were often inspired by her remarkably vivid dreams. 

Believing that someone was just being nice to her was suddenly a lot easier. 

[goldenwitherphoenix13]

Emptober day 5: Sing

It was gonna be deal with destiny but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

Instead, you get Scott trying out his new frost walker boots and singing let it go because he's Elsa but better lol.

Next up, night! See you tomorrow for that. (Nervous sweating as nothing good or accurate comes to mind)

[tev-the-random]

Emptober Day 1 - Trinket

Fwhip had his flaws, that was undeniable. But he was also, under the doubt of no one, the kind of person who saw some sort of value in everything. Where there were possibilities, there was opportunity, and where there was trash, there was treasure.

It had started with toys.

The young heir of Grimlands was known by the staff of the mansion to be a horribly careless child. Anything he touched, he broke. However, it was never a matter of clumsiness, as most thought, but rather, curiosity: if he had a toy train, he would take it apart to see what made it move; if someone gave the twins a doll, he would dismember it to see how the joints were connected; if his sister was gifted a plushie, he would find a way to pull it apart at the seams to see what was inside. Nothing was safe within his reach.

When eventually Fwhip learned to be more considerate of his sister’s possessions, Gem had already moved on to entertaining herself with books. Her brother’s reputation as a trouble child was established, and he would only grow to earn it as the years went by. Though sometimes Gem hoped he would get in trouble, deep down she was fascinated whenever he came back to her with his discoveries.

-

It was around the time Fwhip had discovered redstone that Gem discovered magic.

At first, their learning experience was ridden with issues: while Gemini would find her powers going out of control and set fire to her curtains at least once a week, Fwhip would more often than not create giant messes of red dust that didn’t actually do anything. But while she was a sponge of knowledge, he was a tinkerer at heart, and slowly but surely, they balanced each other out. He helped her make tools that would stabilize her spells or, at the very least, do damage control, which he was no stranger to. She helped him keep track of his work and find new obscure sources and tips on the matter of redstone.

Fwhip’s toys no longer interested him as a whole. Their parts, however, were always useful. Soon he would find himself getting his hands on old clocks, broken pistons, jammed dispensers and silent jukeboxes for their functioning pieces, and an ever-growing collection started to be hoarded. Everything could be taken apart and put together as something else, something new.

As the twins became masters of their craft, the Grimlands became their canvas. The two of them tried to solve every single problem in the most extravagant ways, and all it took for them to get banned from the forge entirely was just a little bit of creativity and constant bickering about the right way to do things. Whatever trouble they could get into, whatever responsibilities they could avoid, they did, and they covered for each other just as much as they laughed at their own mistakes. Or at least, Fwhip did.

When gunpowder was introduced to his arsenal of materials, Fwhip quickly became used to experiments exploding in his face. If anything, he liked setting things on fire and relished in his errors. Gem, on the other hand, took her role as the responsible sibling seriously. More and more often she would lecture her brother on the dangers of his recklessness, and the time she spent in her room or in the library would only increase. The truth was, magic was a volatile and dangerous thing. Though her own dignity kept her from saying it out loud, Gem greatly feared endangering others if her technique was anything less than perfect, if she was anything other than wise.

Fwhip thought she worried too much. Once again, they balanced each other out, for he was the calm and the chaos to her anxiety and her focus, respectively. Much like two cogs in a big machine, they naturally moved one another.

But as the end of their teenage years steadily approached, those gears found themselves trying to spin in contrasting directions.

Fwhip had plans for their empire. Though he never thought of himself as much of a ruler, he had the rising ambition to make the Grimlands the most advanced nation in the continent. His once childish dreams had flourished into the knowledge that his home had just as much potential as he did. The possibilities were endless, and so were his ideas.

Gem, on the other hand, knew her destiny was elsewhere. Her homeland had its own magic, to be sure, but it definitely wasn’t known for it; there had been no native wizards for generations. She had the growing feeling of being stuck in a cage, kept away from so many wonders. The source of all the crystals they imported, the magical creatures that couldn’t withstand the bustling society of the Grimlands, her own space to let her magic lose, all of that could be just over the mountains. Gem had a talent, and she knew that if she were to pursue it, to become a proper wizard, she would have to leave her life, her family and her future throne behind.

It didn’t take long for Fwhip to notice his sister’s pensiveness, and no longer for him to figure out the reason. He didn’t blame her. But maybe there was something he could do.

-

‘Hey, Gem? Can you help me with something real quick?’

She considered responding with “no, I’m busy” and closing the door on his face. But there was something about his eagerness that made her sigh and agree to follow him instead.

Unlike Fwhip, she hadn’t intruded her sibling’s personal space in years, and she was glad she didn’t; his bedroom was an absolute nightmare. All sorts of schematics and blueprints filled the walls and littered the floor. Bits and pieces of machinery were scattered all around the spacious room, as well as dead potted flowers, copper cables, broken arrows and one too many sticks of TNT. A light coat of redstone dust seemed to cover everything.

‘How do you live like this?’

‘It’s called organised chaos, Gem.’ And indeed, like someone who knew exactly how to manoeuvre around the mess, Fwhip entered the room with ease.

‘You should really get yourself a workshop to put all of this stuff.’ Gem followed, walking on the tip of her toes to avoid stepping on anything important. ‘You shouldn’t sleep on top of all of this junk.’

‘Hey, it’s not junk! These are my things, thank you very much’ Fwhip said in the most dignified manner. He started going through his drawers as he continued. ‘Anyway, you said you might be studying abroad next year, right? You were trying to convince dad or something.’

‘Yeah... I could really use some field experience, and there are some great wizards in Rivendell. Dad says it might be good for our external relations, so there is a possibility.’

‘Ugh, it’s always business with you two.’ Finally, the tinkerer pulled a small bag from the dark void that were his possessions. It chimed quietly when he shook it.

‘Look, if you don’t actually need me for anything, I’ll go back to-’

‘No no no, come here!’

As Gem approached, Fwhip pushed all the materials that were on top of his desk onto the floor, gaining some space to empty the bag. Its contents sparkled under the beam of sunlight that was coming through the window, though it didn’t shine as much as the young wizard’s eyes.

‘Wha- how did you get these?’ Her voice was a mix of reprimand, curiosity and sheer delight. She carefully picked up one of the polished pieces of amethyst and rolled it around in her hands, feeling the smallest tingle of magic within it.

Fwhip gave her a cocky smile. ‘I have my ways.’ Mimicking his sister, he inspected one of the stones, his brain already drawing all sorts of schemes. ‘You know, I just thought that maybe you could get used to staring at shiny rocks all day, if you’re gonna be a wizard. Besides, we’re neighbours with the Crystal Cliffs, it’d be a waste if all this amethyst got turned into some boring jewellery when we can make something much cooler out of it.’

‘What did you have in mind?’

-

The twins hadn’t spent so much time together in months. Fwhip made the compromise to put some of his things away so they would have space to work. The sun had reached its peak by the time they actually started, and by the time they finished, the moon had already taken its place high in the sky.

While Gem carved sigils, Fwhip broke up pieces of redstone and lapis lazuli. While he tightened screws, she elaborated a concoction in the single-bottle brewing stand he had left on his bedside table. And while she charged and assembled her new shards of amethyst, he wired the system.

If you asked them what they were trying to do, they would only say it was meant to be something beautiful. Something chemical, electrical, magical, something only the two of them would ever think of doing. But of course, their scientific piece of art would never see the light of day: it blew up as soon as they pressed a button.

They screamed.

The tinkerer was glad he had opened his window; whatever it was that Gem had used to fuel their device made it hard to breathe. His sister, on the other hand, was more preoccupied with putting out her hair — after that, she made the mental note to always tie it back when she was working.

‘Oh, that was a disaster,’ Fwhip cried once the smoke started to dissipate. ‘You ok? Gem?’

The wizard didn’t speak for a moment. The tips of her hair were scorched, her face and clothes covered in soot and redstone; she had slightly less eyebrows now than she did when they started, which Fwhip was sure was his case as well. He waited for her to yell at him.

She laughed.

‘Ok, maybe next time we should try something a little less extreme. Oh my goodness...’ She brushed the dust off her blouse, coughing as she laughed at their ridicule. It was easier to do so when there was no one else around to see it. ‘Are you ok?’

‘Yeah, I’m... I’m pretty used to it,’ Fwhip chuckled back at her. ‘First time I’ve seen the fire go purple, though.’

Both of them stared at the now cracked shards of amethyst, which were engulfed in magical lilac flames. As the fire quickly died, Gem reached for one of them; they were freezing cold to the touch, which only increased her interest. This was her first proper, independent magic experiment outside of basic enchanting table stuff.

‘What a shame. I almost thought it would work.’ The young lord picked up a shard of glass from the now destroyed contraption. ‘I see this as a valuable experience, though. If we find out what went wrong, we can try again. I don’t really know much about magic properties, maybe we just overpowered it-’

‘I think I’m good for tonight. Thanks anyway, Fwhip.’ Gem smiled softly. ‘For the amethyst, that it. It was a nice way to spend the day.’

‘You’re saying you like to spend time with me?’ Her brother said in a mocking hopeful tone. She rolled her eyes.

‘Sure. Just don’t get used to it.’

-

‘Hey, Sausage. Can you pass me a wrench, please? There should be one in one of my pockets over there.’

The current count of Grimlands was a very busy man. Whenever he wasn’t upstairs implementing all sorts of improvements to his kingdom, making sure his citizens had everything they needed, or playing much needed pranks on his fellow rulers, he was down here, tinkering away in his workshop.

Though he usually did so alone, today King Sausage had decided to drop by for no reason other than to pester him — affectionately. Well, if he’s going to stick around, he might as well help.

‘Uhhh, what’s this?’

The king of Mythland rummaged trough the pockets of Fwhip’s coat, looking for that wrench when he came by quite the peculiar object. A bent, thin copper wire stringed together a broken amethyst shard and small piece of lapis. It was stained with very old spots of redstone dust. He knew his ally to be quite the hoarder, but this seemed like an odd thing to keep in your pocket.

Fwhip looked away from the salmon tank he was currently screwing to his newest machine and squinted at Sausage, trying to identify what he was holding.

‘Oh, it’s just an old trinket.’ he said.

‘Ah, ok then. Do you want me to throw it away?’

‘Nope. Just put it back where you found it.’

Sausage abided. ‘Is it a lucky charm?’ His voice betrayed his curiosity. He found the tool he was looking for and handed it over.

‘Well, I wouldn’t say it’s lucky,’ Fwhip chortled. ‘It’s a reminder of that time Gem messed up a spell in my room and blew things up. Good times.’

‘You mean we messed up a spell in your room,’ was what announced Gem’s arrival at the secret door to the workshop. ‘The fuel leaking was your fault.’

‘Eh, same difference.’

She rolled her eyes. Sausage barely got a wave or a greeting before the Great Wizard started to go on a rant about Fwhip planting TNT in Jimmy’s base again. Not that he paid attention to it — surprisingly not because he thought Jimmy deserved it, which he did, but because something else caught his eye.

Huh. He never noticed how the tiny amethyst that made Gem’s earring was cracked, nor the awkward way it was stringed to a little piece of lapis, despite how often she wore it.

And here he thought she wasn’t one to collect trinkets.

[bluebell1116]

Emptober Day 2: Flying

Monarch wings are hard to draw

[saffsketches]

day 3 ! hermes cant read but he likes to look at the pictures at least

image id: a scene of hermes' bedroom in the middle of the night. hermes lays on his bed on his stomach, head peaking out from under his blanket as he looks at a book by the light of bubble's supernaturally bright eyes. she is sitting beside him.

[peakdeer]

Day 9 - Sleep

I realize I'm behind. In my defense, school.

Sausage should sleep. As far as Jimmy is aware, he hasn’t slept in three days, and he’s working steadily towards a fourth. The man’s been working on a new marketplace for days straight, making an impressive amount of progress. The buildings were all top quality, each one made with the same care and diligence. Not to mention he looks very hot while building.

But he needs to sleep. Jimmy glanced over at his comm, yet to awaken with a message from Scott. He’d drag Sausage to bed himself if he wasn’t so absurdly strong and loud, but any attempts to do so definitely would not end well. So Jimmy was stuck alternating between staring at his comm waiting for his boyfriend to respond and staring out the window looking at his other boyfriend. From the last few times Jimmy had casually walked by Sausage and suggested he get some sleep (which was always brushed off by Sausage with the added bonus of ‘Don’t worry Jimmy! I’ll sleep when I get tired enough! Was that not comforting? Fine! I’ll sleep before it gets bad, okay?’ which was an absolute lie) Sausage had begun to droop as he worked, pausing for seconds as if he was drifting off before his head snapped up and he continued working. His hands were no less accurate, and the buildings still went on, and Jimmy continued to compose more paragraphs for his lecture.

Jimmy practically lunged for his comm when it went off, overshooting and falling off his bed into a twisted pile of limbs and pain. He struggled into a sitting position anyway, clicking open Scott’s contact to read his message.

Intolirable Snowman: What’s the issue

Intolirable Snowman: Also ‘intolerable’ is still spelled wrong, just like it was yesterday

Kranky Kraken: well, ‘kranky’ has been spelled wrong for weeks, so you can shut up

Intolirable Snowman: That was intentional. It’s alliteration. I sincerely doubt that ‘intolirable’ was intentional.

Kranky Kraken: WELL MAYBE IT WAS

Intolirable Snowman: Mhm. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

Kranky Kraken: I SWEAR TO COD I’M GONNA DECIPITATE YOU

Intolirable Snowman: It’s ‘decapitate’, not ‘decipitate’.

Intolirable Snowman: Anyway, what did you need? You said it was an emergency

Kranky Kraken: …

Kranky Kraken: oh

Kranky Kraken: i forgot about that

Intolirable Snowman: I figured

Intolirable Snowman: was it actually important or can I get back to what I was doing?

Kranky Kraken: It’s very important! An EMERGENCY! An actual one!

Kranky Kraken: I need you to help me drag Sausage to bed!

Intolirable Snowman: I mean, I’m always down for some fun, but right now?

Kranky Kraken: AHFIUAWGUJNWIO

Kranky Kraken: NO

Kranky Kraken: SCOTT

Kranky Kraken: STOP TYPING

Kranky Kraken: I MEANT HE HASN”T SLEPT

Intolirable Snowman: oh

Intolirable Snowman: in how many days?

Kranky Kraken: It’s a sad day when that’s the first question that comes to mind. Not ‘what do you mean’ or ‘it’s probably a one-time thing’

Kranky Kraken: the first question is ‘in how many days’

Intolirable Snowman: well, answer the question

Kranky Kraken: four

Intolirable Snowman: HSLEGRIUHFEAOHA

Intolirable Snowman: SAUSAGE

Intolirable Snowman: I’ll be over

Jimmy leaned back against his cot, stretching his arms over his head with a toothy yawn. Scott should be over soon, and they can drag Sausage to sleep against his will.

Scott slammed open the door a few minutes later, wings spread open and an infuriated look on his face. “HE WHAT.”

Something in Jimmy’s chest quieted down knowing that one of his boyfriends was here. He always liked it better when they were near him, and they were safe, and they were taken care of. Scott, at the very least, remembered the concept of self-care, even if Sausage and his own self forgot it far too often.

“He’s been out there working for nearly four days with no breaks,” Jimmy got right to the point, raising his arm to point out the window at Sausage’s form.

“THE LITTLE—WHY are my boyfriends IMBECILES?” Scott snarled, turning harshly on his feet to stare down at Jimmy. “EVERY TIME I TURN AROUND! You two are terrible!” He sighed aggravatedly, sinking down into Jimmy’s lap. “For once, I would like you two to take care of yourselves. Is that too much to ask?”

“Apparently,” Jimmy remarked, completely ignoring the fact that Scott’s tirade was aimed at him as well. He fiddled with Scott’s hair, hugging him closer to himself. “You look tired too. Is your council being annoying?”

“Yes,” Scott admitted reluctantly. “I keep trying to pass reforms to help restore Rivendell’s economy, but they keep shutting them down. I can’t even fix the gold farm to help make more revenue without their approval, and we’re already in debt to Lizzie in gold. I’m not sure how to fix it anymore.”

Jimmy snarled low in his throat, instinctively clutching Scott closer. “Do you need me to threaten them for you? I’d be more than happy to!”

“I know you would. But that’s not appropriate for me to have you do—even if I would pay to see them cower like rabbits.” Scot sighed, leaning back into Jimmy before sitting up again. “Well, we have a Sausage to collect, don’t we?”

Jimmy nodded, heaving himself to his feet with Scott dangling from his arms like a kitten. He ignored Scott’s shriek of protest, heading towards the door. “Mhm. Let’s go get him. I wanna cuddle,” He commented sleepily.

Scott and Jimmy landed quite differently—Scott, curse his stupid elven grace, stuck the landing perfectly with the elegance of an angel. Jimmy, on the other hand, landed on a loose board and nearly fell off the building. He ignored Scott’s following quip, glancing around to pinpoint where Sausage was. Sausage had moved since he last saw him, now on the rooftop next to them. He looked up as they approached, a smile brightening his face. Jimmy instinctively smiled back, something warm bubbling up in his chest.

“Hey! Long time no see, eh?” Sausage called, laying his hammer down and springing across the roof to meet them. “You came to visit me while I was working?” Sausage inquired, looking up at his boyfriends with an adorable little grin on his face.

“Yes, you little workaholic,” Scott scoffed, picking up Sausage by the scruff of his neck. Really, for an elf, Scott was unreasonably strong. Of course, Jimmy was stronger, but Scott was an elf, a notably weaker species than the codfolk. Sausage didn’t seem to mind—yet, because they hadn’t started dragging him away yet. “How long have you been working out here?”

“Oh, not very long. Just since this morning,” Sausage lied completely unconvincingly. Scott clearly didn’t buy it, eyeing the dark eye bags under his eyes. They really did look like bruises at this point, a fact that neither he nor Scott were happy about.

“Mhm. Is that what you call four days?” Jimmy challenged, stepping next to Scott. Sausage seemed to bend slightly, possibly because he was now being stared down by his two boyfriends, both of which were rather scary and intimidating.

“…It hasn’t been four days,” Sausage tried, glancing away and towards the ground. Scott reached forward to grasp Sausage’s chin, forcing him to look at them.

“Three days is plenty reason for worry. The fact you won’t admit it is just straight up asking us to babysit you to make sure you actually sleep. No, no,” Scott shushed Sausage when he tried to speak. “I’m aware that’s mildly hypocritical. On the other hand, we make sure to at least take naps. You don’t. That needs to change.”

“And on that note—” Jimmy jumped in, stepping forward and scooping Sausage up, “—you are going to sleep.”

Predictably, Sausage began squirming like he was being kidnapped, whatever he had been about to say dissolving into screeches and violence. Scott stepped forward, helping to subdue Sausage to prevent extreme bodily injury to Jimmy’s person. Sausage could hit hard, after all. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to fly with him struggling this much, so they had to resort to walking through the streets with a very uncooperative boyfriend.

The Mythlanders they passed would walk by, hear the yelling, stop, look at their king as if wondering if he was being kidnapped, then notice Jimmy and Scott and walk away. It was very hilarious and offered a welcome distraction to Sausage’s ear-shattering yelling and rather annoying struggling. With two people, the intervention was going quite well, despite Sausage’s best attempts to escape.

They were halfway to the bridge between Mythland and the Codlands before Sausage finally quieted down, allowing them to drag him through the streets. It was all very comical, watching Sausage glare at the ground with his arms crossed as he was dragged along the cobblestones. However, that couldn’t be comfortable, so Jimmy heaved Sausage over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, eliciting several loud screeches. The codfolk were much more concerned about what was going on, but they slowly dispersed when Jimmy assured them that everything was all right.

Sausage was mostly silent as they made their way to Jimmy’s hut, likely because he was very aware that he was making himself look stupid and didn’t want to draw any more attention than he already had. Jimmy decided to pretend to ignore the occasional punches to his back. Really, it was like trying to give Norman medicine. You knew it was good for them, and that they needed it, but they still acted like you were torturing them.

Scott opened the door to Jimmy’s hut, beckoning them in. Jimmy barged into his house, beelining straight for his bed and collapsing on it dramatically—after readjusting Sausage into his arms. Otherwise that probably would have hurt. Of course, Sausage immediately began struggling and yelling and what-have-you like he was being kidnapped, but he was a very comfortable cuddle buddy when he wasn’t screaming bloody murder.

Scott rolled his eyes at them, a fond smile spreading across his face. Jimmy scooted over slightly, leaving room for Scott to come cuddle by Jimmy. To his satisfaction, Scott also flopped on the bed, cuddling as close as he could get to his boyfriends without being struck.

Jimmy ignored Sausage’s protests, keeping him tucked in between his arms. Sausage’s kicks and punches were half-hearted as best, falling into sulking in just a few minutes. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as a soft buzzing filled the air—a soft buzzing that sounded suspiciously like a purr. The first time they’d heard him purr, they’d been obsessed with it. Even now, it was the most precious sound Jimmy had ever heard.

“Looks like someone’s enjoying themselves,” Jimmy teased, running his webbed fingers through Sausage’s hair. His purring almost tripled at that, getting even louder when Scott slipped Jimmy’s arm over his shoulder to cuddle closer to Sausage.

“Oh, shut up,” Sausage huffed, burying his face in Scott’s chest. “I was fine. I was going to sleep! You didn’t need to intervene!”

“If you work until you pass out, that doesn’t count as sleeping,” Scott scolded.

“It does too.” Sausage argued, not even bothering to lift his head from Scott’s chest to make his answer clear.

“You’re insufferable,” Scott sighed exasperatedly. “Even Jimmy is better at knowing when he needs to take a break!”

“Hey!” Jimmy yelped defensively, smacking Scott’s legs with his tail.

Sausage and Scott burst into laughter at his expense, causing Jimmy to sigh fondly. He loved his boyfriends, even if they drove him up the wall, and even if they could be very stupid sometimes.

Because after all, they were his, and he was theirs.

[roxie-roo]

Emptober Day 29: Stars

The rift would be opening soon, with Grumbot's connection in both this world and the other. That meant the hermits would be going home. That meant Tango would be going home. He and Jimmy both knew that.

So, the two of them resolved, they would spend as much time together as they possibly could. He finished that big project for Fwhip, he had nothing else he really needed to do.

That night, the two of them laid on the sands of Tumble Town, within the rocky bowl surrounding it. Hand in hand as they stared up at the night sky. Of course, it wasn't as comfortable, or as easy to see, as it was on the roof of the ranch. Then again, it also wasn't as dangerous. No matter how different, it felt right.

"-it took me like twenty times to get it!" Tango rambled, gesturing wildly with one hand while Jimmy did his best to understand. In truth, he didn't know the first thing about redstone. But Tango was so passionate about it, and machinery. It was adorable.

"Sounds like you had a busy afternoon." He laughed softly and shook his head with a little smile.

"I did!" Tango huffed, his hand falling back against the sand with a soft thud. "It was real busy... but I'm done, and I'm glad to be home now.."

"Yeah." Jimmy looked up at him and grinned. "Home..." the grin faltered a bit, remembering that Tango would have to go to his real home soon. "But.. this ain't your real home.. we both know that."

Tango paused. He knew that he lived mostly in the Deep Frost Citadel. That was a house. And sure, he missed it. He was kind of homesick? But that's not how he'd describe the feeling. Being in this new world was just overwhelming.

Then there was Jimmy. There was a reason that the ranch always felt like home. That was because Jimmy was there. The ranch was just the house.

"House.." Tango settled on correcting. "The citadel is just my house. The place I live."

"Ain't that a home?" The sheriff tilted his head. Void, he was so fucking cute.

Tango shook his head and laughed. "No, silly.. Home is where the heart is. You're my home. Wherever you are, that's home."

Jimmy felt his cheeks heat up with bright red. "Oh.." He pulled his hat down over his face to try and hide it. "Oh... Tango- that-"

"I mean it, Jim." Tango sat up properly, facing him with the warmest smile that Jimmy had ever seen. Even with the frost taking over, rather than the flames, Tango still had a brilliant warmth, that made Jimmy fall in love all over again. "You're my homestead. Sure, ranches are nice and all.. but you're what made it better."

"Oh.." Jimmy said again. Honestly, he felt rather stupid, only being able to say that. Which he'd already said twice, now three times. He really should come up with something else to say. Something maybe that would make Tango not feel like he's regretting his words.

"Jimmy?" Tango snorted quietly. "You alright, bud?"

"Y- Yeah!" Jimmy squeaked. "Perfectly! I- I just-... I wasn't expecting that.."

"Like I said, it's true. You're my honest to void home."

"Y-.. you're my home too,, Rancher.."

"I would hope so." Tango grinned, pulling Jimmy to sit up with him and kissing his cheek. "Now,, let's enjoy the rest of the night, yeah?"

The stars remained forgotten between the two of them as soon as lips connected to cheeks, along jaws and foreheads, and the corners of mouths. Eventually coming to rest, connecting to each other and between fits of breathy giggles and playful jabs. Comments of "your hands are cold!", and "you're so boney!", rang through the otherwise silent desert night.

They wouldn't have it any other way.

They were home.

[c-r-ash-crash]

Emptober Day Eleven: Spring

Pix brushed some dust away from the signs, trying to get a clearer view of the writing.  He had found the church buried underneath the ruins of the great bridge, nestled near the shore opposite his own ancient empire.  

It had been remarkably well preserved.  All of the windows were intact, and the dye still clung to the glass, electric greens and earthen browns and blacks.  The windows depicted the story of what appeared to be a nature goddess locked in battle with a fire god.  Eventually, the nature goddess drowned the fire god, and her body turned into the continent.  The whole church contained a motif of cod fish, and even the altar was a wooden carving of the fish.  Pix wondered what the connection was.  Perhaps the signs resting in front of the altar would be more illuminating.

Water ran along the edges of the building, flowing from a natural spring just behind the altar.  It might have once been filled with life, but now it lay empty and still.

Pix squinted in the darkness.  He couldn’t bring himself to regret the decision not to bring a candle though.  He really didn’t need some other version of himself giving him cryptic prophecies.  He would excavate this find in peace, thank you very much.  Even if knowledge from some ancient ghost might have been helpful about this place's function.

Finally, Pix managed to clear off enough dust that the sign became legible.  It was in ancient galactic, but he wasn’t worried.  He was pretty fluent in the language.  Although it was interesting to wonder what kind of magic user this place might have once hosted.

“Codfather,” it read.  “You have been found worthy.  You may have your helmet back.  -The Cod Council.”  Well that would explain the odd fish tail helmet Pix had found on top of the altar.

He pushed himself to his feet, and began clearing some of the rubble from the edges of the church.