#Mario is also there too but I cropped him out

[toiletclown]

breathless. (part two.)

spencer agnew x gn!reader

mostly fluff, a little angst.

part two of probably 5/6 (i can't stop writing this fic)

summary: to 'train' for an upcoming guitar hero stream, you head to spencer's for the first time in weeks. the tension is thick, and you have to call your best friend, angela, for some input. your feelings were growing to lengths you weren't sure you could handle -- but what other choice do you have?

word count: 2251 (7000+ remaining)

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

It was not fine. The AC in Spencer’s apartment had broken sometime between him going into the office and him coming back home. He sent you a text to let you know, and even offered to bring all his stuff to yours if that was easier, but you knew how many cords and controllers that entailed and told him it was fine, you’d just wear something you’d be comfortable in.

However, you were not prepared for just how warm his apartment was. You came over in a cropped baby tee and some comfy shorts, but you had worn a very thin cardigan over the shirt, hoping it would be thin enough you could keep it on. But alas, the world was constantly against you, and about fifteen minutes into your visit you knew you had to shed the layer. The windows were open but there was no breeze, and the standing fan and ceiling fan were working overtime. 

So here you were, standing in Spencer’s living room, attempting to hide your Guitar Hero skills while also trying to hide your discomfort. Honestly, you weren’t even sure why you were uncomfortable. It’s Spencer. He’s seen you in worse. At least this outfit is cute, right? When you finally pulled yourself out of your thoughts, you realized you were beating Spencer in 1v1 by a country mile. What the hell was he doing? You knew he was good at this game, and despite you purposefully missing every few notes and hitting the whammy bar much too late, he was still way, way behind.

You paused the game and turned to look at him. You had been standing in front of the couch, since it was a little harder to play the guitar when sitting down. He, however, was sitting on the couch in gym shorts he had no right to be wearing (They were so short that if he moved one inch the wrong way there would be a problem. Why did he pick such slutty little shorts??) and a Zelda triforce logo tank top. His arms were on full display, along with his gorgeous legs, and you had to admit your words got caught in your throat when you saw him. You hadn’t really looked at him with much precision when you arrived because you were more focused on how warm the apartment was, but now, seeing him with his leg balanced on his knee and the guitar lazily draped in his lap, you were borderline salivating.

“You okay, Peach?” He always called you that, since you had a penchant for snacking on peaches and preferred to play as Princess Peach whenever the two of you played Mario Party or Mario Kart. He never let it slip at work, but a part of you wanted him to. Just to see how someone else would react to it. Would they hear it as a platonic, long-term-friendship type of nickname, or would they pick up on a subtle romantic vibe beneath that? Was it crazy to want that romantic connotation? 

“Oh, yeah, I’m okay. Are you, though? I’m not very good at this and I’m still beating your ass. You good over there?” You willed your blush away at his nickname for you, knowing he, realistically, didn’t have any romantic implications behind it. You knew why he called you that, and it made sense. Let’s not think too hard on it, okay? No need to make a romantic mountain out of a friend-shaped mole hill.

Spencer sighed, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finding his words. “Yeah, sorry. The heat is kind of making my brain blank out, I guess.” He stood, pulling the string on his ceiling fan to move it from medium to high speed. You were silently wondering why it wasn’t already on high, but chose not to question him. You also knew he was lying. You’ve been friends with Spencer (on top of having severe unrequited feelings for him) for far too long, and you knew him better than he knew himself. You knew all of his tells, and currently, he was avoiding eye contact and picking at his right thumb, which he always did when he was nervous and/or lying.

You sat down next to him, still leaving some space due to the heat. You were both quite physically affectionate with one another, but lately you had both pulled back in that regard, though neither of you wanted to say anything about it. While he had basically stopped being touchy-feely altogether, you still attempted that contact sometimes. He didn’t react the way he used to.

“Spence, honey, I’ve known you far too long for you to lie to my face. What’s going on?” You voiced your concern with a gentle hand on his thigh, close enough to his knee that it didn’t come across wrong, but also far enough away from his knee that you felt a whoosh in your stomach. It was too late to move it now without him calling you on it, though, so you left it there.

He took a deep breath, seemingly gearing up for a word vomit. But instead he shook his head. “Sorry, I’m just dealing with some… personal stuff, I guess, and I was lost in my head. We can get back to it, I’m sorry, Y/N.” He patted your hand with his, before moving to grab the guitar again and start the game back up. You pulled your hand away, burning, and decided you needed to leave. 

“Oh, it’s… it’s okay. I’ll head out, leave you to your thoughts. You can always text me if you need me, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow?” You stood to start gathering your stuff, and you felt Spencer’s eyes on your back as you bent over to pet one of his cats. The cropped tee was definitely showing off more of you than he had seen before, so it was only natural for him to look. But you wondered what he was thinking, too.

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Sorry again about the AC being broken. Maintenance should be coming by soon,” Spencer supplied, walking with you to the door. “Hopefully I won’t have to sweat to death for much longer.”

You both laughed, and you held your arms out for a hug. Spencer hesitated, before returning the hug and reassuring you that he’ll see you tomorrow. You offered him a goodbye and told him you loved him, like you both did every time you parted. You didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t say it back this time.

//

Angela, please help me. You didn’t know who to talk to about this. Your thoughts had been a bubbling mess for hours at this point, and you couldn’t talk to Spencer, and you weren’t quite ready to talk to Courtney about it. Courtney should be your go-to about this situation, but you weren’t sure how to broach it. Hey, you went from coworkers to friends to lovers. How do I do that? wasn’t exactly the best icebreaker to get into the conversation. Angela had heard you vent many times before, and although you never, ever named Spencer in the conversations, you had no doubt that little Italian gremlin knew you were talking about him. Angela was very intuitive and just because you leave a few details out and refuse to use his name in conversation, that doesn’t mean she can’t pick up on everything else. Especially since Erin was clearly picking up on it. Among others.

What an ominous text to receive at 1am. What’s up babe? 

Holy fuck, was it that late already? You checked the time and sure enough, it was 1:03am. You’d been in your head for far longer than you thought.

Oh fuck I didn’t even realize it was that late lol my bad queen :(( we can hold off till tmr it’s nbd!

NOPE you’re not pulling that shit, ft me rn

You sighed, but it was near impossible to say no to Angela, so you turned your desk lamp on and hit the FaceTime button. You needed to get this out of your system soon anyway, it was starting to eat at you. With other people seeing it clear as day you felt as though you should probably work your feelings out before Spencer realized.

“Hello there my gorgeous best friend, what’s on your mind?” Angela was clearly in bed, face lit only by her phone and the fairy lights she kept strung up around her room. “Is it Spencer?”

Your face went pale at her question, which answered her for you. “Oh, so it is Spencer! Did you ask him out? Did he ask you out? When’s the wedding? Can I sing at the reception? Oh, that might be weird, right? What would I even sing? Oh, I know–”

“Angela.”

“Sorry, go on.”

She let you ramble on for a few minutes, starting from the beginning. When you were hired and instantly bonded with him. When the movie nights turned to movie sleepovers and the game nights turned to game weekends. When he got promoted to cast, then you got promoted, and suddenly your friendship felt different. The first Erin Dougal meme, the second Erin Dougal meme, and finally, whatever the fuck had happened tonight. The way he was distant, but not cold. The way you could feel his eyes on you, and the two times you caught him “lost in his thoughts” as Erin had phrased it. His lack of response when you told him you loved him tonight. That was what hurt the most. He had never left you hanging when you said it, and he said it more often than you did. At lunch, on set, while watching him play Fortnite. You always reassured each other in every aspect of life. And suddenly, it was like that reassurance and friendship was going dormant.

“I just don’t know what I did wrong, I guess? It seems like out of nowhere we lost our friendship and we’re back to being acquaintances, in a way. He’s not as touchy anymore, and he gets weird when I am. He rarely invites me over anymore. I haven’t stayed the night in months. And he didn’t say he loved me before I left tonight. He’s never not said it back. And like, why? What changed? What did I do wrong?” Once your word salad was out and in the open, Angela sat for a minute, thinking on how she wanted to respond.

“Okay, I have a question before we proceed.”

“Ask away.”

“Do you want me to respond as your best friend or as your coworker?”

“Is there a difference?”

“Only slightly.”

“Then as my best friend, please.” You took a breath in, knowing with this selection came some harsh words. If she was responding as your coworker she would be nothing but kind, but with the best friend response you knew she was going to drag you, hard. But at this point, you needed that, didn’t you?

“Y/N, my sunshine, my flower, my angel. He’s pulled back significantly as of late because he thinks that his feelings for you are one-sided.”

“His–”

“Don’t interrupt me, you clown!” 

“Okay!” You laughed along with your friend, knowing that this conversation was going to be hard but it was necessary.

“He sees all these things in a different light because, somewhere in the timeline of your friendship, he got it in his head that you would never reciprocate his feelings. So now, all those things he used to enjoy, almost hurt now. Your touch on his skin is no longer comforting, because he wants more. And he doesn’t think he’s capable of getting that. He’s scared. He doesn’t want to lose you, but he also is having trouble coping with the fact that he doesn’t know if he can ‘just be friends’ with you. Spencer might have held his façade quite well for quite some time, but it’s cracking now and he’s scared. He doesn’t want to lose his best friend, but he also doesn’t want to be strictly friends anymore. He wants to love you openly, and he thinks he can’t do that.”

“Jesus, Angela. How do you even know all this?” You were absorbing her words, letting them flow through you. Spencer thinks his romantic feelings for you are one-sided? Spencer has romantic feelings for you? What the hell is going on, man?

“Because three and a half minutes before you texted me, he also texted me. I was basically reading his text out loud, word-for-word. And before you yell at me for breaking his trust, you are my best friend and I am legally obligated to tell you everything, just like you are legally obligated to tell me everything. Even though you seem to think I can’t parse that the guy you’ve been obsessing and gushing over is Spencer despite your obvious phrasing. You're not as slick as you think, babe.”

You sat in silence for a moment, really trying to let everything sink in. Your feelings weren’t one sided. You had a chance with him. He didn't suddenly dislike you, or hate you, or not enjoy your company. It was just harder now. And that, that you understood, quite thoroughly.

“Ang, how do I unfuck this?”

“I already have a plan for you, Peach.”

You groaned, “Okay, that’s not fair!”

“I know, I know. So here’s what you're going to do…”

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

taglist: @lokidokieokie (thanks for being my first ever taglister hehe)

[dapperblueberrieser]

These are most lesbian Rabbids ever, and they are like those lesbians who attend metalcore concerts and stank up the whole place because they forgot to brush their teeth and put deodorant on

[goldiipond]

AWESOME IT'S ART! 2022 edition

this was definitely one of if not my favorite year for art ever. i allowed myself to branch out and experiment way more than usual and i couldn't be happier with where i am now and i'll leave the rest of my rant in the tags <3

2021 || 2020

[pshbites]

LOVE ON AiR 2. YAP CENTRAL EP.135: alpha male podcasts?!

WARNiNGS » pop culture references, profanity, errrm cant rlly think of anything else

3.6k words (IMSORRY), also it may be a bit confusing but its kind of written like an audio transcript! not all written parts will be like this only the podcast episodes! also this is NOT proofread so pls excuse any typos or grammar mistakes 😞😞

episode desc -  enjoy your stay today in yap central :D ! in todays episode we started off with a deep question about love and relationships and gave our inputs on that. after allll those deep talks we did a good ole blind ranking forms of ‘first dates’. following that up we mention alpha male podcasts and why they should be indefinitely wiped off the face of the earth. to wrap things up we discuss proper aux etiquette *COUGH* kat *COOUGHHH*. hope you had fun with us today and come back to visit yap central! 

*the set up is a big living room, there’s two couches, mics propped up. the room has a very calming aura, there’s fairy lights and blankets on the couches. as well as plushies and throw pillows. on the couch to the left, kat, riki, and you are seated, adjusting your seating positions to be comfortable. on the couch to the right, jungwon, giselle, and sunoo are seated. jungwon sits back down after standing and gets comfortable*

jungwon: okay the camera is on now 

sunoo: kat i can’t take your costume seriously 

*all laugh in unison, riki is pointing at her, laughing and even after everyone is done he still can’t stop.* 

yn: for audio listeners we’re dressed as mario kart characters and kat is.. 

kat: YOSHI *in yoshi voice* 

riki: *still laughing* it’s the tail man 

giselle: this might be the best theme we’ve had so far 

sunoo: no no the one where we switched clothes was funny 

*girls laugh at the memory, jungwon groans and rolls his eyes* 

jungwon: okay no the girls chose bad clothes on purpose that day 

riki: i think we were set up 

yn: i lost a beloved crop top that day 

jungwon: it was way too tight around my arms! 

giselle: that’s surprising considering you have noodle arms 

riki: false *makes buzzer sound with mouth* he actually has been going to the gym more often 

kat: what improvement won *claps* 

sunoo: oh my god did i tell you guys about the comments on my skin care video with jungwon 

yn: no? the one where you opened the PR package right?

kat: wait can you give me some of those? 

giselle: yeah same 

sunoo: of course, thank you dr jart by the way for the package! *he looks to the camera, giving a peace sign* 

jungwon: what the hell were the comments?

sunoo: no yeah basically some of them were like oh how cute, or just about the skincare then the others were saying me and jungwon were a cute couple. 

*riki moves the mic away to laugh at sunoo, you and jungwon gasp.* 

kat: honestly i was expecting ship edits of me and yn 

yn: SAME! 

giselle: that’s so cute you guys are official!

*riki continues to laugh while jungwon glares at giselle, then looks to the camera* 

jungwon: me and sunoo aren’t dating hate to break it to you all

sunoo: you aren’t even my type calm down 

riki: rejected in front of the whole world how do you feel jungwon? 

jungwon: anyways beep- 

giselle: wait before we sign in can we get a water break 

yn: yeah i have to go to the bathroom

jungwon: i literally told you guys to go before 

yn: would you want me to piss on your carpet 

giselle: how would twitter feel knowing you let your editor go thirsty

jungwon: *sighs* go hurry up 

*you and giselle walk out of the room, talking but mics cannot pick it up* 

kat: did you guys see the whole brooke schofield and clinton kane thing? 

sunoo: oh my god yeah.. that shit is crazy 

riki: what happened 

sunoo & kat: basically- oh no you go first 

jungwon: one of you say it 

*kat looks to sunoo, nodding for him to speak* 

sunoo: basically brooke, the co host on cancelled, dated this singer named clinton kane and he full blown LIED about every aspect of their relationship like he said his whole family died but they didn’t and he faked having an australian accent. 

riki: rip you can’t make your mom jokes

jungwon: *laughs* no but there’s no way 

kat: no yeah and she made like a tiktok series kind of exposing him and they’re just going back to back. 

riki: what does this dude look like 

sunoo: *snorts* look him up on tiktok. clinton kane 

*both riki and jungwon get out their phones, typing away. the two of them look at their phones then each other. jungwon and riki start laughing* 

kat: i know! like how did she date him *laughs* 

jungwon: brooke dated HIM? 

sunoo: YES! that’s what i’m saying 

jungwon: look at his teeth he probably has gingivitis 

kat: ugh his breath probably stinks all the time 

*you and giselle come back into the room, confused at the conversation at hand and taking your seats. riki stares at his phone confused then looks to everyone else* 

riki: wait he’s not a ginger 

yn: what? 

riki: his hair is brown idiot 

jungwon: wait what are you talking about 

sunoo: riki are you on the right account stupid 

riki: i literally am. you said he has gingivitis, he’s literally not ginger 

*giselle gasps and starts laughing, causing the others to laugh. riki laughs nervously* 

riki: what

giselle: gingivitis means the tar on your teeth, not being a ginger 

sunoo: oh my god *wiping his tears away, still laughing* 

*riki groans, making everyone laugh, once collected jungwon clears his throat, sitting up* 

yn: thank god we came back to that 

giselle: i know

riki: okay guys that’s enough it’s not that funny

sunoo: oh it is. 

jungwon: alright, can we sign in now? 

*jungwon looks to everyone and they nod, each getting comfortable in their spot* 

jungwon: beep beep! you’ve arrived in yap central im your co host for today, mario. 

riki: and i am your second host, luigi

jungwon: starting from the far left we have 

kat: yoshi *in yoshi voice, waving to the camera* 

yn: princess daisy! *you show your crown, smiling.* 

giselle: princess peach! *she gives the camera a peace sign.* 

sunoo: and i’m toad *he giggles at his hat, the top of the toad.*

yn: i think out of everyone’s i love kats costume 

*kat laughs, pulling her yoshi onesie hood over her head. making the others laugh and smile at her.* 

jungwon: she’s so lucky she’s in a onesie me and riki have these stupid ass gloves 

riki: i don’t know man it’s kinda sick 

sunoo: *taking a sip of his water* is it not uncomfortable 

giselle: it’s giving mickey mouse 

riki: it’s giving your mom 

sunoo: guys riki discovered your mom jokes today 

kat: well your mom has ligma 

sunoo: the fuck is ligma 

yn & kat: LIGMA BALLS!!!! 

*everyone bursts out laughing at the immature joke. sunoo does not look amused yet still laughs along*

jungwon: it’s the way i saw it coming too 

riki: i saw your mom coming 

yn: pause?? 

sunoo: oh that’s not 

giselle: boyfriend! i’m nervous! 

*you, kat and giselle all giggle at her little reference* 

riki: wait no- 

jungwon: dude my mom watches this 

riki: i’m sorry miss yang i didn’t mean it 

jungwon: SHES MARRIED. 

riki: okay then what do i call a married woman?!? 

kat: mrs, not ms. 

riki: see was that so hard. *riki looks to the camera, interview style.* i’m sorry mrs yang i promise i will never say anything like that again 

jungwon: yeah she doesn’t watch the pod man, but thanks for apologizing to all the mrs yangs out there! 

*you and kat hold back your laughs as you look at riki. riki then rolls his eyes and jungwon earning a smile from him and opens his phone to the questions he has pulled up.* 

riki: everyone ready for the first question?

*they all nod, shifting in their seats a little to get adjusted. you sip from your water, giving your attention to riki and making sure the mic doesn’t pick it up.* 

riki: it’s kinda deep, is it easier to love or be loved. 

giselle: *gasps* that’s good one 

jungwon: it came from the patreon 

riki: since i asked the question let’s start on the other side, sunoo. 

sunoo: i think being loved has like a feeling you can’t  replace you know. 

yn: i agree, it’s like everything comes like full circle when you’re being loved by someone. it’s a really good feeling. 

sunoo: i do think though, to give love and to be loved has like its cons too. say if you were in a one sided relationship and you were giving love to someone who wouldn’t want it back, it hurts a lot. 

jungwon: it’s just draining on the person overall. 

kat: but i feel like if you were on the other side of that isn’t it equally as bad? you know if you were being loved by someone who you didn’t love back it’s just another issue because you feel like you owe them your love 

giselle: i agree with you, kat i do but i think it’s so much more tolling on the person giving love because it’s like you’re giving a part of yourself to someone else to cherish and hold. 

sunoo: wow that was poetic 

giselle: i know right? 

kat: yeah i get what you mean

giselle: giving your love is just so much deeper. sure to be loved is such a great feeling but giving your love isn’t just surface level, it’s like you actually love that person so much, and it’s so passionate too. 

riki: but that can be said for the other perspective too

giselle: you’re right 

yn: i honestly think being loved is something everyone gets to experience once in their lifetime, it’s not only limited to intimate relationships 

jungwon: ahh you have a point 

yn: you get to be loved by your parents, friends, anyone really who cares about you. it’s a good feeling and i think that almost everyone should have that kind of feeling in their lives. 

sunoo: what would you describe it as? 

yn: i think it’s different for every relationship. like for example being loved by my family is the thing that nothing can replace, it’s like a warm hug after a long storm. it’s familiar and it’s a feeling that i just think i would give the world to have all the time. 

riki: im the same way, even though i don’t live near my family anymore i miss them like crazy all the time. like my moms hugs. 

sunoo: ughhhh my moms hugs, im gonna drive by and hug her after this 

kat: are you gonna open the door and just give her a big fat hug and leave 

sunoo: you make me sound like a situationship who fucks you then leaves 

giselle: not our fault you worded it like that 

jungwon: i agree with you though yn. i do think that being loved just offers so much more than just intimate relationships. 

riki: i do too. but i see giselles point too. why did i have to pick the best question ever. *riki groans but smiles in the process, making kat slap his arm.* 

sunoo: you just wanted an ego boost. 

niki: perhaps. 

jungwon: i think that it’s a tie, both of them have their pros and cons 

kat: that’s a good way to end it 

sunoo: didn’t know it was a deep podcast today 

riki: sorry *laughs nervously* 

yn: no it’s okay i liked the question *you smile to riki, rubbing his shoulder* 

giselle: yeah same 

jungwon: well then you guys are gonna like this next segment. 

kat: wait let me guess would you rather?

jungwon: no

kat: scenarios?

jungwon: no kat-

kat: opinions on the [BLEEP]?!

*the group look to each other, then burst out laughing.*

giselle: fuck i’m gonna have to edit that out 

kat: what?

sunoo: we cant talk about the [BLEEP] thing remember. 

yn: yeah or else it’ll be our neck. according to [BLEEP] 

jungwon: guys stop bringing it up now we have to bleep all of that 

kat: sorry.. *she smiles nervously at jungwon and giselle and they both wave her off*

jungwon: what i was trying to say is that our next segment is blind ranking

sunoo: oh my god i love these

yn: same 

jungwon: topic is first dates 

riki: okay well i can’t participate i’ve never been on an actual date 

*sunoo moves his mic away to laugh at riki, riki stares at him to shut him up* 

jungwon: yeah that’s why i chose it for our episode dumbass. anyways there’s five of them so here’s the first one. a music festival  

kat: oh my god 3 duh 

yn: ehhhhh 5? 

kat: *gasp* what 

giselle: yeah im with yn 

sunoo: yeah 5 

kat: why that’s so fun 

yn: it’s too sweaty like i had to be super comfortable to even go to head in the clouds with riki and won

giselle: i feel like that’s cool to do if you’re already dating but first date? i don’t think so 

jungwon: majority rules sorry kat 

kat: yall are fake 

riki: okay next one is a classic, the movies 

sunoo: honestly 4 

giselle: maybe 3 i don’t know it’s very like highschool

yn: yeah i see what you mean. i think it’s just weird because what if you’re watching a popular movie and neither of you really like it. also you can’t really talk to get to know the person 

jungwon: personally this is a 5 for me 

kat: it’s so like.. middle school 

riki: doing that damn arm stretch. 

*everyone laughs at riki’s joke as he fake yawns to stretch his arms and put it around kat, making her laugh even harder.* 

jungwon: i was abusing that card in highschool 

yn: it’s so corny eww *laughs* 

kat: no it’s kinda smooth if someone can pull it off 

sunoo: i remember i did the counting shoulder thing in middle school 

yn: oh my god i remember that 

riki: i never heard of that one 

kat: like 1, 2 *she counts her own shoulders* and 3 *she puts her arm behind riki, him laughing as she did it* 

giselle: that’s a good one 

jungwon: so movie 4?

kat: yep movie 4. 

yn: this is so fun

jungwon: the next one is go karting 

sunoo: OOOOO

yn: might put this as a 1 

kat: okay but what if they choose a really really good one for the last one 

yn: ugh you’re right 

sunoo: im saying 2 

giselle: lowkey 3 

yn: noooo its so fun. like its playful and it’s not too much talking where it awkward. and then after that you can grab food and talk 

riki: that honestly sounds perfect 

kat: okay you’re convincing me 

sunoo: let’s stick with two because i know they’re gonna pick a good one 

giselle: okay yeah 2 

riki: next one is eating. like going out to eat 

yn: 3 it’s a safe choice 

giselle: yeah it’s safe 

sunoo: oh my god what’s the last one i’m excited 

jungwon: sitting at your number 1 spot is a date in the park 

kat: oh..

*you and sunoo side eye one another, and start laughing* 

riki: you guys fumbled 

giselle: ugh we should’ve put go kart at 1 

jungwon: i would’ve put go kart at 1 too

yn: okay park isn’t that bad 

sunoo: no it’s bad imagine all the bugs. and there isn’t a single cute park where we live 

kat: that’s definitely 5 

giselle: yeah i agree 

yn: what time are we at won? 

jungwon: about an hour. you guys ready for a break 

riki: yep, i’m gonna go grab water 

kat: yeah i have to use the bathroom

*riki and kat get up, moving their mics. they both walk out of the room. the rest of the group continues to scroll on their phones, checking notifications. giselle laughs and sets her phone down* 

giselle: did you guys see the top albums of all time? from apple music. 

jungwon: *snorts* yeah, yn what’d you think about the list 

yn: oh i loved it, i think there was too much classic rock on there but my girl lauryn hill sitting pretty at number 1 

sunoo: i love that album, like it’s so good 

jungwon: frank ocean was top 5 i think we’re getting an album 

*giselle laughs, shaking her head* 

giselle: i fear we won’t be getting one for a while. 

yn: no but imagine not knowing who lauryn hill is? 

*sunoo and jungwon side eye each other but stay quiet to let yn go on* 

yn: you must have some shit music taste if you don’t know lauryn hill is all i have to say 

sunoo: must be an alpha male 

*giselle, you and sunoo laugh. jungwon looks at sunoo, holding back a laugh* 

jungwon: cmon we weren’t gonna talk about it 

yn: speaking of alpha males let’s talk about alpha male podcasts. have we ever covered that? 

giselle: don’t think we have 

sunoo: it has to be rage bait 

jungwon: well no have you seen andrew tate, he was like so serious about it. 

yn: i think alpha male podcast are so stupid. like you must be so sensitive about your masculinity if you have to run a podcast all about it. 

*riki and kat enter the room, taking a seat* 

kat: what are we talking about? 

jungwon: lauryn hill and now alpha male podcasts

riki: i fucking love lauryn hill 

kat: alpha male podcast should be wiped off the face of the earth

giselle: and they invite like instagram models on there and like flame them for no reason 

jungwon: they are like the bane of this existence 

sunoo: honestly is it just me or like recently has there been an uprise in podcasts 

giselle: no i get what you mean 

yn: i think when all those like old youtubers started doing podcasts they became popular again. 

riki: everyone and their mom has podcast 

kat: dude we have a podcast 

riki: yeah.. we’re everyone and their mom keep up 

*you laugh next to him, shaking your head* 

jungwon: you guys ready for the last question 

giselle: mhm 

jungwon: so as surprising as it is we’ve never talked about aux etiquette on this podcast. what do you guys think proper aux etiquette is? 

giselle: i think proper aux etiquette is playing music that everyone listens to 

jungwon: yeah.. *jungwon glares at kat, making you and riki laugh. kat furrows her brows in confusion*

kat: um hello im an amazing dj 

sunoo: you’re in fact not 

yn: yeah babe 

kat: *scoffs* what! wait do you guys seriously not like my music? 

riki: well no it’s just whenever you’re on aux- 

jungwon: which is all the fucking time 

*you and sunoo laugh* 

riki: like i was saying whenever you’re on aux, you always try and get us on to the music you listen to and it’s just shitty house music like *starts imitating one of the songs* 

kat: you guys don’t appreciate taste 

jungwon: you mean noise? yeah we don’t 

*kat laughs* 

sunoo: hot take i really don’t want music when im hanging out with my friends 

yn: your worst take yet 

sunoo: okay what the fuck 

riki: i’m sorry but pitch silence? fuck i’d go crazy in a car with kat and yn 

yn: rude 

riki: you two talk soooo much 

kat: not our fault you’re a nonchalant emo 

jungwon: *laughing* fuck 

giselle: i agree with sunoo to an extent like it depends on what we’re doing. if we were going to a club or something i’d want to get hyped up but on the way back i would want to debrief 

sunoo: yeah i agree with that

riki: let’s rank us in terms of aux 

jungwon: kat is dead last 

kat: your music taste isn’t amazing i don’t know why you’re talking 

jungwon: least i can admit it 

sunoo: the girls are fighting.. 

yn: i think it goes kat in last, then sunoo 

sunoo: wait what 

yn: your music taste isn’t like versatile. no hate it’s just not great on aux 

sunoo: yeah well yours is shit too 

yn: don’t care *you stick your tongue out at him making him stick it out back, the two of you giggle*

giselle: i think first place is between riki and yn 

yn: my brother just another me 

*you and riki fist bump each other, giggling* 

jungwon: it’s gonna go to their big fat egos 

riki: frank ocean is never gonna release an album ever again 

jungwon: take that back 

riki: your mom 

kat: as much as i hate to say it jungwon might be second. it’s tied between you and giselle 

sunoo: so we agree that kat should never get aux 

giselle: she’s always fucking arguing for it too 

*the group laughs* 

yn: like damn if you’re gonna fight for aux atleast put on music we all like 

kat: ugh fine i will next time 

riki: next time im getting aux 

jungwon: we’re gonna hear emo music the whole ride 

riki: to be emo is to be free 

giselle: rikilations

sunoo: what time are we at? 

jungwon: an hour thirty ish. should we end it? 

kat: i mean did you guys have any other questions 

riki: nah i didnt, did you? *he looks to jungwon* 

jungwon: nope 

giselle: okay sign us out then 

riki: thank you for staying with us today at yap central we hope you enjoyed your stay. 

jungwon: remember to subscribe, like, comment, and share this video. check out our bio for resources and sign up for patreon. peace! 

previous masterlist next

AUTHORS NOTE » i had SOO much fun writing this, like it felt like i was actually sitting there with them. the bleeps aren't too hard to guess bc its pretty obvious. i wanted to include them so it felt more real and i hope this wasnt TOO confusing

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[galaxygermdraws]

Finally designing the Sonic cast. or. at least. Some of them. There are too many characters in this franchise these are just the ones I think about the most often. So uh. Ya. I will leave any notes under the cut since I have a lot, although not every character will have notes because we haven't explored every character (and share them with @shadesofvermillionvoid)

(reblogs with tags/comments are appreciated. Thankyu)

Sonic

Sonic's earring is Chip's bracelet. I don't think Sonic particularly likes having anything on his wrists, and Sonic Forces made that worse

The regulators are based directly on Sonic Prime, as I love the regulators in that show and think the idea of giving Sonic something similar to Shadow's Inhibitor Rings makes a lot of sense

He got those little markings due to accidentally absorbing some of Chaos' DNA

Tails

Tails has goggles like in Sonic Boom, because I like Boom Tails' design

He still has his robotic bits from Sonic Lost World, he still managed to keep his free will, but what happened was Zavok used his ability to control robots to force Tails to fight Sonic. Since then, Tails has updated his cybernetics so he can filter out any suspicious frequencies that could take his free will.

The cannon arm from Lost World is now basically like the guns from Mario and Rabbids, where you hold it in your hand and it like covers your arm. It's like that

Tails is a skeptic. This is the funniest bit but also thanks to Boom (the bad luck episode) it has some precedence

Knuckles

Knuckles in our lore is deeply spiritual (we are developing Mobian belief systems because we are Insane) , and the first time he saw Sonic he noticed he looked similar to the murals in Hidden Palace. So when Sonic turned out to be good, that made sense to him, as Sonic was common in a lot of prophetic murals around the island.

Knux actually thought Sonic was a god at first. Then he saw him choke on a Chili Dog.

He put beads around his spines after the events of Sonic Forces, since the war was over and he could relax for the first time in months.

Amy

Amy, like Knuckles, actually has a deep connection to her belief systems. We haven't figured out everything exactly, but she and Knuckles quickly bond over this aspect of their lives

I styled her quills differently because I kind of like giving her something that makes it obvious she is a hedgehog

Similarly, I gave her a back spine, and the hedgehog nose, since I had never realized she has the same kind of nose as Tails or Cream

Shadow

Shadow wears eye makeup. He puts it on every morning. For a while he had to have help with it (from both Rouge and Amy), but eventually figured out how to do it himself

He has yellow sclera due to the Black Arms blood. Similarly, he has a longer tail than most Mobian hedgehogs, and he cannot retract his fangs. His blood is green

He has some less favorable urges. Mostly related to the whole "Black Arms feed on living creatures" things, but they don't crop up often

He and Rouge have matching earrings

Rouge

I based her design off of Sonic Prime because I honestly prefer that design more. One because she looks like an actual spy, and two because it's based on her Sonic Heroes design. Similarly, she has Prim's hair tuft

Gave her the bat nose a lot of people do because I like the way it looks

I don't have a lot of thoughts about Rouge as of right now I am so sorry.

She and Shadow have matching earrings

Silver

Silver has a lot more scrapes and burns from his future, even though it's been fixed several times

He is displaced from time. He doesn't feel connected to his current future, especially since in our lore he is one of the few people to remember Sonic 06 (it's because in our lore, Timeline B Silver got his powers from Mephiles, in the sense that those time powers had to go SOMEWHERE after the timeline reset.)

I am going to be designing a weird messed up form for Silver (like Werehog or Doom Morph for Sonic and Shadow) based probably on Mephiles to some extent

Blaze

Like Silver, she has remnants of powers from the previous timeline. She already had fire powers in Timeline A, but she has much stronger ones now, as she still has Iblis inside of her, although the powers are no longer destructive, as they were never provoked

Her dimension is actually a result of Solaris ceasing to exist. That power still existed and had to go somewhere, so it ended up resulting in the Sol Dimension.

[riptideripley]

Roman’s Cousin.

gif creds: @bloodycowboyclub

summary:You’re Roman Reign’s right hand woman,helping him with everything in his life. But his cousin,Jey,caught your attention a little too much..

jey uso x black reader

wordcount:1,416

“Well well well..look who’s all alone here” you heard a familiar voice behind you,turning around to see Jey. You two had a few on screen moments were you almost got caught up but masked it. You were Roman’s right hand woman and with the bloodline falling apart,you couldn’t betray him. You were also a wrestler and have won so many matches,even beating Rhea Ripley. “Hi Jey..nice to see you I guess” you spoke with a smug smile on your face,knowing you just wanted him to knock the Mario coins out of you right then and there. “Mm guess I can say the same ma,where’s your ‘tribal chief’” he responded using quotations around the words tribal chief. “He’s busy handling your brother with Paul right now. Though it’s none of your business on what” “mm so we can take things back to my dressing room then?” he said as he kept looking at your glossy lips,wanting to kiss you right there.

“fuck Jey..” you whimpered out as he continued to kiss your sensitive spots,with his hand up your skirt rubbing your clit. “right here baby?” “yes please fuck” you said as your eyes rolled back,orgasm approaching very quickly. There was a knock on the door causing you both to freeze up instantly. “Yo uce! Cmon man we gotta go in 10 minutes” Jimmy spoke through the door,walking away as you both looked at each other hearing his foot steps get farther away. Jey continued his movements,pulling you into a deep sloppy kiss to prevent you from being loud. “oh my god-“ you words were cut short from your orgasm hitting you hard. It took everything in you not to let out a loud ass moan,panting trying to catch your breath. “Better get going before Roman looks for you” he said with a wink,fixing your clothes and opening his dressing room door walking out. You quickly followed behind him trying not to get caught and immediately went to Roman’s dressing room.

“(your name)! Where the hell have you been?” “I apologize my tribal chief,I was in the bathroom” you said in a calm tone,somehow convincing him. “Well how’d things go with Jimmy?” “Just fine I hope. Now come help me get my stuff to the car” you nodded at his words and began grabbing his belongings,taking them to the black car in the garage waiting for him. Once all his stuff was in the car and he left,you checked your phone seeing a text from Jey.

Jey<3 - “hey mama,you still coming by tonight”

You - “Yea give me an hour”

Once you responded you put your phone away and got in your car,driving to the hotel. You two got lucky enough to be put on the same floor so you just went straight to your room to shower and change. Once out of the shower you put on shea butter and some baby oil,along with the strawberry scented perfume he got you a while back since it’s his favorite. You slipped on a matching red lace bra and panty set,throwing on a crop top and shorts. You texted him letting him know you’ll be by soon,fixing your bun and edges before heading out the door. You walked three doors down and knocked,waiting for him to open it.

When he opened the door,he was standing there with nothing but a pair of psds on. You looked him up and down mentally cursing when you noticed his print. You two had sex before but it seemed like every time it got bigger. “You just gon stare at me?” he asked making you snap out of your thoughts,”No just let me in” you brushed past him letting yourself in. You sat on the end of the bed,looking up at him as he hovered over you. “Clothes off ma you know how this go” he said as leaned down to kiss your neck while playing with the hem of your shorts. You whined and was able to get him to move away from your neck,allowing you to remove your shirt and soon yours shorts. He stared at you in awe at the lace garments you chose to wear,since you never wore them around him. He smiled and unclipped your bra,taking your right breast in his mouth. You threw your head back,letting out soft moans at you played with his hair gently. He stood up and turned your body around putting you on all fours. You felt him rip your underwear off and before you could speak you felt his tongue going to work on your clit. “O-oh my god..” you moaned out gripping his hair as he continued to eat you out,this time using his fingers. “You always taste so good for me mama” his words making you shy and more wet than you already were.

You whined when he pulled himself away,but your whines were cut short when he pulled his boxers down and slid inside of you with ease. Your back automatically arched and you shoved your face into a pillow,moaning. "Aht aht pretty girl lift your head up." he said as he pulled your hair making you lift your head. "Fuck right there!" you yelped out,not being able to control yourself or your moans at this point. He laughed at this,running his hand down your back as he continued his movements getting deeper knowing you couldn't handle all 10. You were a stuttering mess,with each thrust you felt him in your stomach not being able to handle it all. "Cmon princess whose pussy is this hm" "Y-yours! SHIT-" you felt his finger massaging your clit. You were on cloud nine right now,eyes rolling deep into your skull letting out nothing but moans and whimpers. He loved seeing you all fucked out,it made him pleased with himself. You felt a swift smack at your ass,making your shoot your eyes open,"Eyes open for me baby." he demanded and you obeyed. He held your head up by wrapping his hand around your throat,keeping eye contact with you. "Please Please daddy I can't-" "Yes you can baby,I know you can. So just hold it for me I'm almost there" he said with a slight moan towards the end. You've never heard him moan before but god did you love it.

You were fighting back tears at this point from overstimulation,but you loved it and he knew it. “Fuck- cmon baby cum on this dick for daddy” he whispered breathily in your ear. Hearing his voice in your ear like that in the state you were in was just enough for you. You let out a scream which was half way cut off with a sloppy kiss,soon he pulled away making you whine and lay on the bed. “shit..yo you on birth control?” he asked realizing he didn’t pull out this time,which made you wanna slap the shit out of him but you were too tired to do so. “Yea I’m on it don’t worry..” you told him making him sigh in relief,as he went in the bathroom and came back with a warm towel wiping your body down which made you whine and jolt your body a bit. You turned over on your back and smiled when you saw him hovering over you leaving kisses down your body and tickling you which made you laugh. “Ok okkk I have to get back to my room Jey” “Fine ma,but call me in the morning ight?” “Ok I promise” you spoke getting up slipping your clothes back on. “Oh and wear lace more often baby,looks good on you” he said smacking your ass as he put his underwear back on along with some shorts,walking you to the door. You smiled and gave him a quick kiss before walking out the door and back to your hotel room. You decided to shower in the morning due to your tiredness.

_the next day_

You walked into Roman’s dressing room seeing The Usos,Solo,and Paul there which confused you but you could tell Roman was upset about something. You then took notice to Jey’s face of nervousness and realized. ‘Shit he found out-‘ your thoughts were cut short with Roman’s words. “My cousin huh?”

[dizzy-n-busy]

[can (and most likely will) contain SOME poly hcs!]

« D.A.M.N Crew headcanons »

° • ° • ↓ • ° • °

Dams lips get dry quickly, as well as his skin - mostly durin colder months - and has a life time supply of lip balm (cool mint or classic cherry) and moisturizers (coco butter or coconut)

Completely unrelated to Dams; Hux's moms make homemade lip balm and moisturizers !! Literally from their backyard !!

Lasky has a bad center of gravity and sometimes gets himself stuck in whirlwinds when he practices his magic

Gav likes messing/doing the other's hair, he finds it therapeutic

Dams is into nail care for some reason (he feels like he has to be prim n' proper)

FL is multilingual !! Fluent in many languages and tends to switch between them frequently (esp. when stressed)

Since Lasky and FL are human-born I feel like they're genetically smaller than the other three (or those three are jus too damn big)

Gav = Princess peach, Dams = Bowser, FL = Toad(/mario/daisy?), Lasky = Shy guy(/mario) & Hux = Luigi; argue w/ the wall

Dams and Lasky can't hold their liquor, FL and Hux have a higher tolerance and Gav barely gets drunk at all

Dams wears (short) shorts a lot bc he's worried abt burnin anything longer (almost exclusively worn indoors)

Hux likes massages, esp back and scalp ones

FL is strong enough to carry all the boys at least a lil bit (Dams = firemen carry, Lasky = bridal/over the shoulder carry, Gav = koala carry & Hux = at least an inch off the ground)

Gav prolly smells like roses or eucalyptus

Hux's moms house has this SUPER big window-esque wall that opens up into the forest (in their livingroom)

(kinda poly?) FL likes cuddling Hux on his lap, laying on Dams side/next to him, resting their leg across Laskys lap and cuddling Gavs stomach

FL and Gav have convinced Hux that cropped shirts and tight/short shorts are good workout gear (they were right)

Hux has the cutest pout and head tilt

Lasky has the most ADORABLE doe-shaped eyes

Dams likes running his nails across the others backs/skin

FL ass is ALWAYS late, to literally everything - Dams: come at 10:30, FL: 1:03, got it!

Gavs eyes can glow in the dark, bc I said so

The D.A.M.N crew have matching pjs and sometimes do sleepovers

[Bouns! Coworker is invited!!]

Certified hair ruffler, no one is safe

They were relatively nervous at first but it immediately dissipated when FL and Gav asked them if they were their babysitter - free my man Dams

Hux also said they smelled like lavender and fresh laundry

Dams is the 'imma whoop yer ass if yer lil asses don't sit down' type parent and Coworker is the 'settle down guys yer stressin out ma' type parent

ALWAYS brings food, they got snacks on deck too (they needa make sure their bbys are fed)

Naturally colder body temp, scares the crew sometimes when initiating contact (in a good way)

Effusive praiser, it can't be escaped

Psych major idc

Everyone cuddles/leans on Coworker once they got into the crew shenanigans

Coworker = Yoshi (/Rosalina)

Dams #2 fav (they get mani/pedis w/by him)

Huxs fav scalp massager (esp if they grow out their nails)

Gavs #2 fav therapist (/j /lh)

FLs fav advice giver (or date idea giver)

Laskys fav (of all time)

They cried when they got their friendship bracelet and matching pj set (either in front of them or on call w/ Lasky)

• ° • ° ↑ ° • ° •

[darkwingsnark]

Koopa Valley AU

Just had a sudden thought. So you know how there are flower shop aus for Bowuigi? I thought of something like essentially a set up like Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley where maybe somebody the bros had rescued had died and in their will gave his farm to the bros.

Mario, of course, isn't exactly into it because of not really having the time for farming. Luigi, however, has always enjoyed gardening and thinks that retiring would be relaxing. The old man was a koopa that lives maybe on the borders of the kingdoms, maybe even IN the Koopa Kingdom. Either way, Luigi moves in and Bowser of course gets wind about a Mario Brother moving in on his turf. Bowser goes there at first and is ready to wreck havoc, get answers. Finding out the reasoning doesn't exactly make Bowser any less suspicious. But it's enough to give him pause. After all, the place was a koopa property. He'll have his people look into it, keep a word out for anything suspicious. he will NOT let them try and play some ploy for Mario. Guy sucks at scheming anyway! Why would he just leave his weak defenseless bro out in HIS territory?? Makes no sense!

Well time goes on, and word has been that Luigi has become more settled in the small town in that part of the area. People seem to absolutely love him. Not a single bad word, and his spies can't see him doing anything suspicious. Just him and his ghost dog... living on a farm. Again, what the heck? So are you to tell me the guy just upped and everything just because an old koopa asked him to look after the place? Just like that? It's so... thoughtful, disgustingly so. I think what would make the AU work would be if around that area there has already been problems. Maybe farmers in that area had already been struggling? Even with being so far from the volcano, not enough sun? Or, because they're so far away from volcanic activity koopa crop can't thrive there. Luigi, however, has been using his time to experiment. See what from both kingdoms works. And he's starting to thrive, actually doing REALLY well? It's Bowser who has the idea of taking a gamble. On one hand it gives him an excuse to personally check in on things, and two, it might actually be useful. Bowser makes an agreement to personally fund Luigi's farm, in exchange to it going towards the people in the outskirts of his kingdom. He will give money, he will send workers. Give Luigi more land, whatever is needed. And Luigi, instead of feeling intimidated by the prospects of being under Bowser's control, as the king expects some hesitancy, cause duh-- instead Luigi surprises him by his eagerness and jumps at the offer. He not only gets to help in a way he usually doesn't feel, but not having to struggle with money would also be a bonus. After all, his experiments have quickly been depleting his funds. And thus, a partnership is born. That of course isn't the end. As Luigi becomes even more a part of the village and its surrounding area, Luigi becomes more involved in the community aspect. He starts finding himself partaking and learning about Koopa holidays and their cultures. And Luigi writes letters to the king giving updates. Not something Bowser asked of him, as he planned on having his own men report everything. But Bowser ends up going from amused by the friendly non-professional aspect of how Luigi writes, to full on getting eager for the updates. And eventually a time comes when Luigi ends up inviting Bowser to one of the festivals. After all, the king should see the fruits of their shared labor. ['That's a joke, Bowser. Heh. Cause we've been growing fruits and veggies. Get it?'] And that becomes a thing. Bowser gets invited more and more, and he comes to actually think of the weird little noodle human as a friend.

Of course eventually it can lead to more, but that’s what I was thinking for a potential setup. What do you guys think? Again, same as the Doctor AU stuff, I don’t personally have time outside of maybe doing some pics. [Too busy with Melodies in Motion.] But throwing this out into the universe anyway.

[skratchytheclown]

I had random ideas for gender-swapped BFFs all of a sudden, so here they are.

I decided to name these versions of the BFFs after workout equipment rather than healthy food-related things. It's cheesy, but the original names were cheesy too. I'll also explain my thought process behind these designs for no particular reason:

Elliptica: Goes by "Ellie" as a nickname. She is the leader of the BFFs. Her personality is a lot like Dieter's. She is calm, confident, and well-mannered. Her design didn't change much from the original either. Just gave her female anatomy, made the hat and hair longer, turned the tie into a bowtie, and gave her heels. Dieter's design was already pretty simple.

Tread: The "handsome one". Kaley seemed to always want to look "cute", so I kind of kept that for Tread, but instead he focuses more on general attractiveness rather than cuteness. Since Kaley was bird-like, I decided to use male birds as an inspiration. Usually, they are more colorful and "pretty" than the females, which is why I gave him multi-colored wings, long hair, and a long tail. The outfit is just a normal shirt with a tie, because anything more detailed might make the design "too busy".

Barbelle: The brute. Much like Beef, she is the silent kind. Maybe one or two words would come out on occasion, but not much otherwise. She is prideful in her strength, maybe a bit more than Beef. For the design, I decided to take some elements from another strong and silent woman from a Mario spinoff (Bedrock). That's why I gave her rectangular eyelashes and a short tank top. Crop top? idk. I thought the ribbon wouldn't work as well on the pants, so I put it on the tank top/crop top thing. She now wears sweat bands instead of whatever Beef had on his wrists (to make her look more different than both Beef and Elliptica).

[multicolour-ink]

Alright I am biting since you want more asks for your AU! I am doing one for the deity au again! So you have explained in one message you sent me that of course Daisy and Peach would be devastated after their partners left but did they atleast got to say goodbye? What were their goodbyes like?

For Daisy I imagine that this is the first time she cries in front of Luigi where she understands that he must go but she is not ready to say goodbye. After he leaves and doesn't come back after waiting and waiting, Daisy is so devastated from heart break that she turns into a flowerpatch of daisies. A reminder of their love together.

I don't have anything for Peach yet but if you have different ideas from mine also regarding Daisy please share! I'd love to hear your perspective on this!

Deity AU

So I'm reading this but I'm confused over which goodbye you're referring to. Is it the one where they go to fight dark god Bowser for the first time, and Luigi disappears? Or the final battle where the Bros must destroy themselves in order to defeat Bowser for good?

If it's the former, then yes, Daisy would be devastated. In fact it's pretty heavy ;_;

I haven't thought too much about their first encounter with Bowser. In my mind, a disturbance appears in the celestial universe, felt by many mortals and gods. Upon investigation the Bros learn that this is dark god Bowser, a terrifying being that holds destructive power and must be stopped or he'll devastate the entire universe.

Mario is determined to put a stop to this, but Luigi holds him back, reminding him of Peach and Daisy. He wants to go and stop Bowser too, but they can't just disappear without letting them know first!

Luckily they need to make a trip to the mortal world anyway, as Bowser's mere presence starts casting a dark shadow over everything. Peach's homeland and her people start to get sick and crops wither and die. Daisy's forest starts to lose all the green and natural life entirely.

The Bros drop in to their respective lovers, and tell them what is happening and what they must do. Peach is dreadfully worried for Mario, but as she has already had an inkling of a dark force at hand, she allows Mario to go, but not before giving him a goodbye kiss.

Daisy is less complaisant. She begs Luigi to let him go with her, she wants to help. But Luigi is adamant against this. He needs her to stay here, where it's safe. Where the forest and the animals and the natural world need her.

And that's when (from your idea) Daisy sobs from this devastating heartbreak alone. She can't fight this. She knows he's right. But she hates it with a passion. Luigi holds her tight as she sobs in his arms. He whispers that he loves her, and will come back to her after they are done.

But hours pass, and then days, and Luigi does not come back. Mario drops in on Peach, his form so much more broken than she has ever seen it. With a heavy heart that makes it even impossible for him to look at her, Mario reveals that Luigi is gone.

He's not strong enough to face Daisy, so he uses his power to send her a message through the air. Back in the forest, Daisy instantly feels it. She feels Mario's sorrow, learns the truth about what happened to Luigi. And she lets out an anguished wail to the sky. If her heart could break any more, it would.

Unable to bare the anguish, Daisy retreats into a flower cocoon, and stays there for years until Luigi is found again...

* * *

Oh I love your idea about her turning into flowers! That is such a good idea ;_; I imagine that this would happen right at the very end, when the Bros make their final sacrifice to end dark god Bowser for good. After the battle is won, the effect on the world is instantaneous, and the people rejoice. Except for Peach and Daisy.

Realising with a heavy heart that their lovers are gone for good, they both make a prayer to the gods for them to be reunited with them one day...

I forgot to mention that Peach does have some demi god blood in her, but it is not enough to guarantee her a spot of a full god. Nevertheless, this link in her bloodline is what allows the gods to be able to grant her wish and have her be reincarnated many years later...

As for Daisy, her wish is also granted by the gods, and (as your idea implies) her body transforms into a patch of daisies that never die, while her spirit drifts up to be reunited with her lover one day...

[taralen]

Announcement? Other things!

Hey, everyone, so besides commissions and all my SPECIL SALESMAN art, I would also like to share more things (like original art) and draw fanart for other things. Spamton G. Spamton is a mainstay on my blog. He is very important to me, and if you don't like him, then too bad!

My range of interests is absolutely massive, and as one fan/friend of mine said to me years ago, "You're like a mystery box of surprises!"

Here is what I plan to make art and possible theories or analyses for:

[[please note that a lot of my interests are 17-18+, but anything uploaded here will be kept SFW or cropped. All NSFW stuff will go to my Pixiv account. I highly recommend to NOT look up the origin if you are a minor or sensitive to explicit content.]]

Queen's Blade Franchise (17+) - I really want to make more art of my favorite character, Alleyne the Elven Fighting Master, and possibly her apprentice, Nowa!

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (17+ GORE HORROR. Do not look up if you are sensitive.) - Recently fell in love with this series. I consider the original anime from the 2000s to be a masterpiece. I want to draw my favorite character, Takano!

Taimanin universe (17-18+. Seriously don't look it up if you're a minor lol.) - I really love some of the characters of this series, like my waifu Ingrid. I've drawn her before, and I want to draw her again. Funny enough, one of my pieces is featured in the mobile game Action Taimanin as a poster on the wall for a level. Sometimes, I see people use my art as an icon. It's very flattering!

Dragon Half (15+) - One of my all-time favorite mangas ever made from the 1980s. I think it's long overdue I make a fanart for it.

Winx Club - I have numerous unfinished fanarts for this series. I love it so much, even though Sailor Moon is superior lmfao.

Shoujo Tsubaki (18+. BANNED WORLDWIDE. DO NOT LOOK IT UP if you are sensitive or if you are a minor) - I watched this two nights ago, and it's so sad... I plan to do an analysis of it. I honestly don't think it's the worst thing ever, but I can see why people find it offensive, as it touches upon A LOT OF taboo topics.

Psychonauts - This game series man... So good. I want to draw something of my favorite character, Helmut, and his husband, Bobby. I just absolutely adore them. 😭

Touhou Project - It's been a long time since I've drawn proper fanart for this series. I have A LOT on my DeviantArt account, but I'd like to draw my favorite girls again.

Super Mario Bros - Peach is my original waifu. I've tried drawing her many times in my style, but I've kind of failed. I also really like Princess Daisy's N64 version and want to draw her again. Rosalina/Rosetta, I will also think about it.

The Legend of Zelda - This one is a little... Difficult for me. This is one of my favorite game series ever, but I really struggle to make art for it. I want to since it heavily inspired my work, but damn is it hard... Hopefully, I can break out of my shell for this.

Various other Eroge titles (18+) - Eroge are any games with erotic elements that originate from Japan. There are so many I like that range from simply being romantic to utterly insane. If you're a minor, do not look up anything.

Runescape - How I love thee. It's been a while since I've drawn fanart for it. I love the Elves haha!

Creepypasta or ghost legends/stories - I've been listening to a lot of these lately and I feel a bit inspired to draw some of the things that pop up in my imagination.

That's all for the non-original stuff. I'm still hesitant to post OCs here because they got 100% ignored last time. xD

Stuff of mine I won't ever upload to this blog:

18+ NSFW. Obvious. Do you want me to get banned?? I can draw fanart for something adult without it being NSFW.

Fetish stuff. I know I get commissioned a lot to draw fetish art, but all this will remain on DeviantArt.

Anyway, that's all I can think of right now.

[lazylemons247]

Modern AU Steddie Halloween

Every year a member of the Fruity Four chooses a group Halloween costume but what they end up dressing up as is always a mystery until Halloween Day. The first year this tradition started Robin picked the group costume. And she made the whole group dress up as Mario characters Steve was Peach and Eddie was Mario. And boy was that an amusing Halloween for Eddie.

The only reason why it’s a mystery is because when the tradition first began. Since Robin was the first person to choose the group costume and in true Robin fashion she procrastinated deciding the group’s costumes and just ended up winging it at the last minute. And when everyone asked about the costumes she just told everybody “it’s a surprise” or “you’ll find out later.” But that’s a secret that Robin would take to her grave. 

This Halloween Nancy and Robin have decided to go to a different party. So they won’t be participating in the tradition this year. As a result the Fruity Four have decided to do two duo costumes instead of the usual group costume. And since it was Nancy’s turn to choose the costume this year. Steve and Eddie decided to figure out who chooses the costumes in the most adult way possible. By of course playing rock, paper, scissors to find out who will choose the costumes this year. 

“Ok, do you go on scissors or shoot?” Steve asked inquisitively.

“I go on scissors,” Eddie replies.

“Who the fuck goes on scissors?” Steve asks while scrunching his face and glaring at Eddie.

“Whatever man, why even ask, let’s go on shoot then.”

“Alright rock, paper, scissors shoot,” Steve says.

Steve plays rock and Eddie chooses paper. Eddie wins.

“Two out of three,” Steve insists.

Eddie chooses paper and Steve chooses rock. Eddie covers Steve’s fist with his hand.

“Four out of six?” Steve asks  

“Don’t be a sore loser Stevie,” Eddie teases while lightly shoving Steve, “besides you know I’m going to pick amazing costumes for the both of us.”

“Yeah, okay, Munson, just don’t pick anything too weird.”

“Oh Harrington, have you even met me? ‘Weird’ is my middle name.”

“Okay Munson,” Steve says curiously. 

So since Eddie won he gets to pick the costume this year and boy is he stoked. He’s been pondering on what he’d make everyone dress up as since the tradition began. But since Nancy and Robin are canceling he’s going to have to change up his plans. He didn’t want to make the costumes too weird or nerdy because then nobody would know what they were dressed as. But he also didn’t want to make it too basic because it would be mortifying to see someone else dressed in the same costume at the party. So he decides to go for a DC Comics duo costume. Sue him, he's not that creative and he’s low on time. Although he has taken the creative liberty to at least modify the costumes so if someone does dress the same as them their costumes will be a little more innovative to say the least.

Halloween Night

“Oh my gosh, Eddie!”

“Yeah, Stevie?” It takes him a second but he finally registers why he’s calling when Steve steps out of the room, “Do you like your costume?”

Steve comes out of Eddie’s room dressed in a white and red crop top and some of his chest hair is showing. He’s wearing half blue and half red short shorts with fishnet tights underneath them. He has a half red and half blue jean jacket to match which is currently wrapped around his waist. Eddie dyed the jacket and put various patches on it. And for the costume Eddie let him borrow his black boots he also bought a spiked collar for Steve. And man did Steve look drop dead gorgeous, stunning, he looked delectable when he left the room. 

“What do you think?” Steve asks and his question comes out dripping with insecurity and that makes Eddie’s heart break a little. Eddie has to pick his jaw off of the floor to even reply to Steve. “You look absolutely breathtaking” Steve began to blush profusely. “You look incredible as well” then they both paused to admire one another’s costumes “We… sh-should get to the party yeah, Mr. J” Steve says in his best Harley impression. “Yeah we should get going, Harls.”

End of Pt. 1

[adeanthepurpledragon]

My story idea for the rest of my Webcomic series.

Okay, so I thought over what will happen after the third page of the pilot comic of Adean the Dragon which I’ll end up naming it Adean the Dream Guardian.

I already wrote a first draft of my story for my original and also maybe fanmade comic Adean the Dream Guardian to start making my webcomic series from. I’ll post it on my secondary tumbler account where I post my webcomic series at as well as on my Deviantart account.

It’s kind of going be based after Dungeons and Dragons with the different races and monsters as well as be based after Animal Crossing which I never played very much of Animal Crossing because before when I played it I couldn’t understand the mechanics of playing the game but basically has the same concept as Disney Dreamlight Valley where you get to live in a town full of villagers or in this case in Disney Dreamlight Valley the Disney characters but it’s where you get to go on little quests for your neighbors, garden plants and crops, organize your town the way you want it, and go on adventures in the Valley.

I want my world that my webcomic is about be inspired after the story concept of both Disney Dreamlight Valley and Animal Crossing with maybe a bit of Dungeons and Dragons sprinkled in but in a more modern setting with the big city of Dreamtopia which is also a bit inspired after the Valley in Disney Dreamlight Valley and the islands in Animal Crossing but it has my own casts of characters and my own world mostly populated with many races mostly of characters and background characters I make myself but might also have canon characters in it (maybe).

Although The Land of Dragons and Dreamtopia are my own worlds with The Land of Dragons actually first thought up by my good friend @drake-the-highlander and the main city idea designed by him too so thanks to him I would have trouble building the world of Adean the Dream Guardian dragon from the ground up.

Originally the city of Dreamtopia was originally supposed to be called Heartfelt City but I actually think that Dreamtopia has a much better ring to it instead so it’s actually a utopia that looks like something out of a dream although it still has its issues at times.

But my story concept is pretty much inspired by Animal Crossing, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Dungeons and Dragons and the world traveling like in Kingdom Hearts or the Super Mario Bros franchise but especially with Kingdom Hearts with traveling to other worlds but without the whole Final Fantasy idea but more of an Animal Crossing and Disney Dreamlight Valley idea instead with hanging out with the citizens of the different areas and going on adventures while still going for the whole day to day life of the story of my webcomic series as well.

I hope to build on more to Adean’s world and work on the webcomic series of Adean the Dream Guardian with also adding a bit of a magic system to my world as well like even adding the Disney characters Merlin from The Sword in the Stone into my world as well being a big help to Adean like a wise mentor or something and Mickey Mouse being the mayor of the city of Dreamtopia with Adean helping out both Merlin and the mayor Mickey Mouse out as well and befriending them even helping out Scrooge Mc Duck help build his shops which my world is not the Dreamlight Valley but it has inspirations from Disney Dreamlight Valley while also having anthro animal characters like in Animal Crossing.

Although in the story Adean is a shapeshifting Dragon girl that changes into many different animals to help out with different tasks in different ways while protecting her world from real harm whenever she takes on different animal forms but mostly stays in her usual dragon form whenever she’s not in her normal human form.

She even has a close relationship with her big sister Kristy Micheals who can also Shapeshift into many different animals with her favorite animal form being a shark and a cat while Adean’s is a dragon and a wolf.

I’m real excited to eventually start working on the worldbuilding of this webcomic and all the characters both my own and canon characters that are from Disney, Dreamworks and some characters from Brand New Animal especially Michiru and Shirou.

I hope I can get in the habit of drawing more backgrounds for the worldbuilding of my webcomic even though I tend to draw more figures then I do actual backgrounds. I even need to practice drawing characters I don’t usually draw like Merlin and Ursula and so on.

Yes I’m inspired by the games Disney Dreamlight Valley mostly to come up with this story with a little bit of Animal Crossing sprinkled in but it’s because I’ve been playing Disney Dreamlight Valley that I want to make my own world that has Disney characters and also anthropomorphic animal characters like from Animal Crossing although besides just my ocs I might add Disney furriesa like Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Robin Hood and Little John in my story too even though they are not in the Disney game Disney Dreamlight Valley although since I tend to play it on the weekends I can be inspired by the characters that are in the game to put into my webcomic series as well as Disney characters that don’t even appear in the game like Elliott the Dragon and Nick Wilde and so on.

Yes I know that my webcomic series won’t be 100% original although I’ll try to build the world a bit where the world itself is original as well as some of my original characters in it too like Kento the Tanuki who helps Adean and Kristy out along the way the same with the Disney character Merlin who acts as a guide to Adean as well although Kento works as a tax citizen in Dreamtopia like the tanukis in Animal Crossing but also to help Adean and her sister settle into new world of Dreamtopia both the Land of Dragons and Downtown Dreamtopia while Merlin acts as a guide like he does in the actual gameplay of Disney Dreamlight Valley.

I hope to work on my webcomic pretty soon as I get more drawing practice in to make the webcomic series.

Although I also have other hobbies besides me just making art and stories like reading a good book or so, watching tv, playing video games and so on.

I don’t know when I’ll get started on the webcomic series but as soon as I continue to work on writing the story script and editing it on my Storyist app as well.

But I hope to work on it soon.

@drake-the-highlander @alexcanine @jaysmily2919 @reformedladyfandom @kingnice1219

[tipsy-scales]

Pictures of 9S today at the Barbie movie! I met up with another doll owner & had a really great time!

I don’t go to many movies, but had fun going with my friends to see the Mario one, and as I became more interested in Barbie, I wanted to put in the effort to go see it. It’s also one of the few valid excuses to bring a doll out, so I asked around my local BJD community.

The doll we met up with was named Arthur. It was cool seeing 9S next to a resin doll. He was even mistaken for one ehehe secret vinyl. Though now I’m quite aware of how boyish and skinny 9S is. My skinny king. My beloved…

We took hot boy pictures after.

I had a—for lack of a better term—thottier outfit picked out for 9S because I wanted him to look like Ken, but it didn’t feel like him. I had him wear what I call the “summer Yorha” outfit. The cropped tank top brings the Barbie glam instead lol.

I think I need to add more gothic elements to his wardrobe. I took some more pictures on my own after. I will post more later.

I liked the movie a lot too!

[ironychan]

A Little Human (as a Treat)

Part 1/? - Un Volontario

Part 2/? - Un Escursione

Part 3/? - Una Complicazione

Part 4/? - Una Famiglia

Part 5/? - Un Aiutante

The underdogs find some possible help.  So does Flavia.  Ercole needs help, but there’s nothing to be done for him.

Alberto, Luca, and Giulia had left the harbour and headed out into San Giuseppe Bay, looking for the sorts of places where sea monsters liked to live.  These would not be so shallow as to be subject to the weather, but also not so deep that their crops wouldn't grow.  No sooner had they spotted a likely-looking area – a gentle sandy slope, covered with seagrass and with sunlight flitting across it – than they started encountering people.

Back home in the waters off Portorosso, Luca was usually the first to talk to people, because everybody already knew him.  The sea monster community there had been aware of Alberto's father, but had considered him a very private herson and he'd kept his son the same, and they were still a bit wary of Giulia and Massimo.  In Napoli, it had been Alberto who'd started conversations, since just about everyone in the Gulf was related to the extensive Scorfano family somehow.  Here, it was Giulia who approached a man gathering sunken driftwood and cleared her throat.

“Ciao,” she said.  “Can you help us find somebody?  Our neighbour, uh...” she looked at Luca.

“Mario Macarello,” he supplied.

Giulia nodded.  “He has a cousin who lives near here.”

“Oh, yes, Antonio,” the man replied pleasantly.  “Him and Felicia live just on the other side of the rise there.”

“Thank you!  Come on, ragazzi!” Giulia swam off.

Alberto shook his head.  “Man, when did she get to be faster than us?”

“You were proud of her before,” Luca reminded him with a smile.

“I'm proud of her when she's faster than people who think she's not sea monster enough,” said Alberto, “not when she's leaving us behind.”

Beyond the sandbar was an extensive, shadowy orchard of tall seaweeds with colourful fish darting between the branches, and in a clearing in the middle was a little house.  Like most sea monster homes, this had been built up from boulders already on the bottom, and its distinguishing feature was the triangular doorway framed by the jawbone of a whale, which had colourful anemones growing on it. In front of the house was a carefully-tended garden of ornamental crinoids and sponges.  Another sea monster was there, trimming one of the sponges with an obsidian knife.  She looked up at them, then did a double-take when she noticed their human clothing.

“Buongiorno!” Giulia called out.

“Ah... hello,” said the woman.  “Can I help you?”

“Are you Signora Macarello?” Luca wanted to know.

“I am,” she said, still cautious.  “And you?”

“Luca Paguro.”

“Alberto Scorfano.”

“Giulia Marcovaldo.  We're neighbours of Mario Macarello, from Portorosso.”

Felicia Macarello nodded in recognition.  “Oh, yes, Tony's cousin Maria.  I've met him.”  She still looked rather unsure about these children, but the polite thing to do was be hospitable.  “Won't you come in?”

She led them through the whale jaw and into the house, where her husband was replacing a stone that had fallen from the edge of a window.  Signora Macarello was sky-blue and veyr thin, while her husband looked much like his cousin, being mustard-coloured and a bit pudgy, and prematurely losing the fins around the top of his head.

“Antonio, these three say they're Mario's neighbours,” Felicia said.  She started sorting through the cupboards, looking for something she could offer her guests to eat.

“Oh, yes?” Antonio asked.  He set aside what he was working on and floated over for a closer look – he, too, looked rather askance at what they were wearing.

Giulia took the lead again.  “My name is Giulia Marcovaldo,” she repeated, “and my friends are Luca Paguro and Albe...”

“Paguro?” Signor Macarello interrupted, as his wife gasped. “The one who goes to school with the humans?”

“Yes, Sir.  That's me,” said Luca.

“So you two must be...”  Antonio pointed at Alberto, then at Giulia, and licked his lips.  “You're the ones who are part human yourselves?”

“Yeah, that's us.”  Alberto puffed his chest out defiantly. “What about it?”

“Nothing, nothing,” said Antonio quickly.

“We were in town with a friend,” Luca said, “but the fountain at the zoo broke and we got wet, and we had to run for the river. Flavia got left behind, so we need somebody to show us the best place to get out of the water again without anyone seeing us.

Felicia had been in the process of filling a large clam shell with snacks. Now she nearly dropped it in horror.  “You left your friend behind in a city full of land monsters?  Why didn't she come with you?”

“Because she couldn't.”  Luca looked at his friends – this was a bit of a complicated situation.  How much could they leave out, and still have it make sense?  If they had to start with the magic books in the Library of the Deep, they'd be here all night.

“She's human,” said Giulia.  “She can't swim.”  It was probably true.  Flavia wouldn't know how to swim the way humans did.

That made Felicia relax a little.  “Ohhh,” she said.  “Well, in that case, I don't see what the problem is.  She's with her own kind.”

“No, she's...”  Luca thought about it, and decided not to elaborate.  “She doesn't know anybody in San Giuseppe.”

“She's one of my cousins from Napoli,” Alberto added.  “She's just visiting Portorosso with one of her Dads.”

“We promised him we'd have her home in time for supper,” said Giulia.

Antonio grimaced.  “Normally I'd say if you have to go up on land, you do it after dark when the land monsters won't be out and about,” he said, rubbing his temples.  “Going up there while the sun's still out?  I don't know.  I just don't know.”

“I would say don't go at all,” his wife declared.  “Land monsters are dangerous.  Even if you are all chummy with them out there on the edge of the open sea, it's not like that here.  If any of them spot you, that'll be it.”

“And then there's the sun,” Antonio agreed.  “If you stay up there too long it can burn you, like sticking your hand in a kitchen vent.  I knew a guy that happened to, and after a couple of days his scales started falling off...”

“We know,” said Alberto. “If you stay in human form your skin peels off instead.”

It seemed that neither of the Macarellos had known that.  Antonio's eyes bulged in horror, and Felicia covered her mouth as if the idea made her nauseous.

Alberto leaned back a little, hands behind his head.  “Well, guys,” he said to his friends, “I guess if they can't help us, we'll just have to find somewhere all by ourselves.  I hope we get it right on the first try.  It sounds like if we don't, we're gonna get harpooned.”

Signor Macarello sighed heavily.  “I know a spot where the kids go to watch the city,” he said.  “I used to do it until my parents caught me at it.  But I will not go there while the fishing boats are out,” he added firmly.  “We'll wait until the humans go back to land for their supper.  You'll have to settle for getting your friend back in time for bed.”

That was considerably better than no help at all.  “Thank you, Sir,” said Luca.

“Do you know where she'll be waiting for you?” Felicia asked.

“No... but we went to a few different places today, and she'll probably look for us at one of those,” Luca said.  He thought for a moment and added, “probably not the pirate museum.  The parrot didn't like us.”

“Maybe the pizzeria or the candy shop,” Giulia suggested. “Unless the pigeon lady took her home.  What was her name?”

“Signora Pepitone,” said Luca.  If they knew her name and had a few coins, they could telephone.

“We'll figure it out,” Alberto said confidently.

--

The house where the Donzella family now lived had once belonged to an elderly man named Terzo Cormorano, but had stood unoccupied since his death a couple of years earlier.  Cormorano had let it get pretty dilapidated, and the Donzellas had done a lot of fixing up, but the house was now livable and it was time to pay attention to the rest of the property.  The barn was in a particularly awful state, with the roof partially collapsed.  While Signor Donzella and Silvio had gone to the shallows around the Island to collect more stones, Signora Donzella and a couple of neighbours were cleaning up what had fallen.

“That's Signor Pianuzza,” said Giordana, pointing to a man who was bringing in curved pieces of wood that must have come from a shipwreck.  “And there's Signora Egelfino.”  She was helping Giorgia Donzella sort the rubble by size, tossing away stones that were too broken or covered with shellfish to be re-used.

“Hello, Giordana!” Signora Donzella called out, waving.  “Oh, is this that boyfriend we've been hearing about?”

“Yes!  This is Francesco.  His friends call him Ciccio,” Giordana replied.

“Ciao,” Ciccio said with a nervous smile.  He couldn't help noticing that nobody seemed to find his presence odd.  Certainly nobody said anything like, wait, wasn't Giordana's new boyfriend a human?

A little girl with red and orange fins, Alessia Pianuzza, swam up for a closer look.  “Have you got sponges growing on you?” she asked Ciccio.

“No.  I've got poison spines and I don't want to stick anybody,” he replied – especially now that he knew what they actually did. Which reminded him... what had happened to their tagalong?

He turned and saw motion in a line of tall purple seaweeds that had been planted to mark some kind of boundary.  Sound carried further underwater, and Ciccio could hear Ercole's voice shout, “give that back, you little thief!”

“Come and get it!” Silvio replied.  “Swim!”  The weeds parted and Silvio dashed out, holding Ercole's pink sweater. Ercole himself emerged a moment later, in hot pursuit.

Watching Ercole swim was something like seeing an inexperienced rider on an excitable horse, except that Ercole himself was both the rider – trying desperately to pretend he was in control of the situation when he was clearly not – and the horse – barrelling merrily along in whatever direction it pointed its nose.  Being bigger than Silvio meant he could produce more thrust, but he had no idea how to direct it.  He caught up with the boy, couldn't stop, and ran right into him, sending both of them into the stony seafloor. There they wrestled a moment before Ercole got Silvio pinned and sat up, the sweater triumphantly in his hand.

“Mine!” he declared.

Alessia saw this, and decided she wanted to play, too.  She swam over and snatched the garment.

“My turn!” she said, and darted away.

“Hey!  Aspetta!” Ercole protested, but the only response was Alessia's giggles echoing back.  He looked up at Silvio.

“Well?” Silvio said.  “You know what to do.”

Ercole growled.  He picked himself up off the bottom and tried to swim after Alessia.  First he hit a rock.  Then he plowed himself face-first into a bed of sponges.  Then he finally managed to get going, and followed the laughing seven-year-old.

Silvio beamed.  “He'll be swimming like an expert in no time!”

Ciccio and Giordana delivered their loads of stones to Signora Donzella, who thanked them and asked if they wouldn't mid helping Signora Egelfino while she got the rafters, made out of the old ship ribs, in place with Signor Pianuzza.  They got to work sorting stones, and were soon joined by Signora Egelfino's daughter Mia.

Ciccio knew Mia.  She was one of Giordana's friends and had been to town a couple of times to try the things they cooked up in the bakery – in human form she had short, light brown hair and freckles.  As a sea monster she was yellow and pink, and it took Ciccio a moment to pick out the telltale traits and recognize her, but once he had he was pretty confident of his identification.  It was gratifying to hear her familiar voice a moment later as she greeted Giordana.

Mia, of course, also knew him.  She looked him over and said, “you're Ciccio, huh?”

“Yeah, that's me,” he agreed, rather relieved that somebody knew he was out of place here.

“What's with the spines?” Mia wanted to know.

“We don't know,” Giordana told her.  “Apparently that's just what he looks like.”

“Huh,” said Mia.

Signora Egelfino was putting the smaller stones they couldn't use into a basket to carry away, but she was close enough to hear this conversation.  “Oh, that's right,” she said.  “Giordana's seeing a boy who lives in the human town, isn't she?  I hope we'll see you down here more often, young man.”

Ciccio looked at Giordana.  She had said if anyone asks, we're just going to tell them.  Now was a moment of truth.

Giordana blinked back at him, then realized Mia was also looking at her to explain.  She swallowed and shut her eyes for a moment.  “Um, no,” she said with an awkward smile.  “This is just for today. Ciccio is... he's a human.”

“Like Luca and Alberto's friend,” Mia agreed.

“Oh?” Signora Egelfino said.  She moved a little, putting the bulk of the stones in between her and the kids.  “So... this is just going to be something that happens now, is it?  I mean, humans coming down here, and...”

“Just for today,” Ciccio assured her.  “The kids had this magic scroll.”

“It was really for Alberto's cousin,” Giordana added.  “She doesn't do the Change, but they found this spell where she could go up on land if she had somebody to trade with.”

“So they asked me if I wanted to try,” Ciccio finished.

He and Giordana both held their breath, waiting for Signora Egelfino's reaction.  If this went badly, it wouldn't bode well for how Giordana's mother might react later.

Unfortunately, her first question was, “does your mother know?”

“We're gonna tell her tonight,” said Giordana, “when he changes back.  I thought she'd take it better if she had a chance to get to know him a little better first.”

“I... see,” said Signora Egelfino dubiously.  She didn't look at all comfortable with the idea, but she wasn't freaking out, either. That wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible.  Could they expect the same sort of reaction from Atinnia Trota?  Would she just be mildly disapproving like this, or would she be outright furious?  Ciccio was starting to get a very bad feeling about the whole project.

“What about him?” Mia asked, pointing.

Ciccio and Giordana exchanged another worried glance, then turned to see what she was looking at.

Ercole was now lying face-up on a boulder, clutching his sweater and panting from unaccustomed exertion, staring blankly at a point somewhere between the surface of the ocean and the edge of the universe.  Alessia and Silvio were hovering over him, concerned.

“Is he dead?” asked Alessia, sounding sincerely worried that he might be.  “Did we kill him?”

“Nah,” Silvio said.  “His gills are moving.  He'll be fine.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, as if to somebody at a great distance, “you're doing really great!”

Ciccio turned back to Mia.  “It's pretty obvious, huh?”

She nodded.

“Don't say anything to him.  He thinks he's blending in.”  The last thing Ciccio wanted was Ercole having another screaming fit.

Mia's only response to that was a snort.

A few minutes later, more neighbours arrived.  The first one Giordana pointed out was Ginevra Tartaruga, bringing coils of seagrass rope.  Her young son Milo was following her, but when he noticed Silvio and Alessia dragging Ercole off his boulder, he went to see what was going on.

“Up and at 'em,” Silvio was saying.  “You gotta learn to steer.”

Ercole groaned loudly, but Alessia took his other hand and Milo grabbed him by the tail, and they hauled him into a sitting position.

Only moments behind Signora Tartaruga, Vittoria Aragosta swam up with a basket of barnacles and her five-year-old twins.  She saw the other children gathered around Ercole, and went to deposit her daughters among them.

“This is Gianna and this is Giola,” she said.  “Don't let them confuse you, Gianna is the one with the freckles on her gills.” She gave one a gentle tug so Ercole could see them.  “Now, you two behave yourselves for... sorry, what was your name?”

Ercole just stared at her, not sure what was happening.

“This is Ercole,” said Silvio helpfully.

“Behave yourselves for Ercole,” Signora Aragosta finished, “and I won't be far away.  Okay?”

“Si, Mama,” the twins chorused.  Their mother smiled and nodded, and went to join the rest of the adults.

A moment later, Ercole finally figured out that he'd been mistaken for the babysitter.  “Hey!” he protested, but Vittoria was already chatting with Signora Donzella, and didn't realize he was talking to her.

Using the rope and the pieces from the shipwreck, the adults and teenagers built a frame for the new barn roof.  Then they began building over it with stones, cementing these together with barnacle glue and filling the cracks with sponges that would trap silt and keep cold currents and annoying plankton from getting in to bother the livestock.

As they worked, Ciccio tried to be surreptitious about glancing over to see what Ercole and the kids were up to.  He would never have trusted Ercole to look after a child, and he wasn't sure these children were capable of looking after Ercole, either.  The first time he checked, they had dragged him back to the row of tall seaweed.  The kids were swimming through them, weaving in and out as if for a slalom, making it look very easy to do so without touching the stems.

The second time Ciccio looked, Ercole had tried it for himself and was now tangled in the weeds.  Silvio and Alessia were trying to extract him while the younger children giggled helplessly.

As the adults decided to call it a day and began cleaning up, Ciccio took a third look.  He was just in time to see Ercole starting off towards the row of plants – some of which were significantly shorter than they had been.  Ercole managed to manoeuvre in between the first two, then back, brushing against the third stem but not getting stuck in it.  In and out, in and out, and then he was at the other end.

The children burst out cheering and hurried to give him high fours, which he returned with a grin.  “I knew I could do it,” he said smugly.  “After all, I won the Portorosso Cup race five years in a row!”  He held up his hand as he usually did for this boast, then paused, counted the fingers, and quickly added one from the other hand.

Giorgia Donzella approached Ciccio and Giordana.  “You two and your friend were a big help,” she said.  “I know Silvestro more or less kidnapped you for the afternoon, so can I offer you some supper?  As a thanks for staying?”

“No, thank you, Signora,” said Ciccio politely.  “I'm having dinner with the Trotas tonight, and then my father is expecting me home.”

“Some other time, then,” she said pleasantly.

One by one, the parents came to collect their children.  Signora Aragosta left with her twins, and Signora Tartaruga took Milo by the hand.

“Thank you for entertaining him,” she said to Ercole.  “He does tend to get into everything if he's left on his own.”

“It was nothing, Signora.  My pleasure,” said Ercole, giving her what he thought of as his most charming smile.  It had looked sleazy when he was human and sharper teeth had not improved it.

Signor Pianuzza let Alessia climb onto his back to be carried home, although he did grunt.  “You're getting a little big for that, Starfish,” he said.  “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah.  We taught Ercole to swim!” she replied.

“Oh, did he forget?”  Signor Pianuzza chuckled, humouring her. “Good job.  Let's go see what Mom and Cosimo have been up to. Thanks, kiddo!”  He waved to Ercole, and headed for home.

Ercole turned to Ciccio and Giordana with a grin.  “Did you hear that?  They love me.  They've got more sense than I thought, these sea monsters.”

Ciccio tried to remember if he had ever heard anyone thank Ercole before.  It wasn't in his character to do useful things, even by accident... today was probably the first time in years.  No wonder he looked so pleased with himself.

“I wonder if they ever have races down here,” Ercole mused. “Imagine the look on those boys' fishy faces if I beat them in their own element!”  He rubbed his hands together.

“There are races at the festivals,” said Giordana, “but they're usually for livestock, not people.  The more important question is what we're going to do with you now.”  She nibbled on a cuticle as she thought about it.

Ciccio realized what she meant.  “We can't take him back to your Mom's place for dinner,” he said.

“Why not?” Ercole asked.  He pointed at Ciccio.  “You got me into this, number one, and number two,” he pointed at Giordana, “you said I can't get out of the water to get any real food.  I think that means it's your responsibility to feed me.”

“And Mom will do it, too,” Giordana groaned.  Hospitality was important to sea monsters, and Attinia Trota took social niceties very seriously.  “We can't sit around and think about it.  I'm surprised she hasn't already sent Arturo to come find us.  We'd better figured it out on the way.  What are we going to tell her?”

“The truth?” Ciccio tried.  He wasn't going to let her forget it.

“About you, sure, but him?” Giordana asked.

“Absolutely not!” said Ercole.  “I am blending in, remember?”

“If we lie about you, it's gonna make telling her about me way harder!” Ciccio protested.

“That's not my problem,” Ercole informed him.

“Yeah, but if we tell her you were an accident, then she'll be even more suspicious about the whole thing!” Giordana groaned, pulling on her own fins in distress.  She shook her head, and took a deep breath.  “Okay, so you can't meet my Mom, then.  You'll have to wait outside... we'll find you somewhere to hide, and I'll bring you something to eat, okay?”

“Fine,” Ercole decided.  “I wonder what sea monsters eat.  I hope it doesn't look as disgusting as you do.”

At Signora Pepitone's apartment, the adults drank coffee and talked about the sorts of things adults find interesting, while Perla took out a deck of cards and taught Flavia to play a game called Straccia Camicha.  The rules were easy to remember and who won was based on luck, with each player putting down a series of cards determined by the last card their opponent had played.  That was fine with Flavia, who was not good at strategy games like chess.

“If it does, you don't have to eat it,” Giordana informed him. “Come on – the kids said you can swim now, so do it.”

-

It was a fun distraction, but every few minutes Flavia would remember the pickle she was in, and would have to remind herself that Papa Leo was coming to get her and it would all be okay.  What about the others, though?  She still didn't know where Alberto, Luca, and Giulia had ended up or whether they would try to look for her.  They had plenty of experience around humans and their spaces so they would probably be okay, but how would they find out that they were supposed to meet her and Papa Leo back in Portorosso?  It would have been better to know.

A while later, Perla's mother arrived.  She knocked and then let herself in, gave Perla a quick kiss on the cheek and then went to sit with Roberto and Signora Pepitone.

“You weren't kidding, Dionisia,” she observed.  “The whole town really is talking about it.  It sounds dreadful.”

Signora Pepitone snorted.  “I told you,” she repeated, to her son.  “Some coffee, Lisa?”

“Yes, please,” Lisa replied.  “Do you remember Graziano?  The fellow who works at the Museum of Piracy?”

Flavia paused in laying down a card, listening.

“Oh, yes,” said Signora Pepitone.  “What about him?”

“He says he saw the same group of kids earlier in the day,” Lisa replied.  “One of the girls apparently had never seen a parrot before, so he offered to let them pet his.  As soon as they touched it, though, the bird started crying out about sea monsters!”

“They were on land when I saw them, but monsters they certainly were!”  Signora Pepitone shuddered.  “Horrid.”

Flavia felt her heart drop.  If the man from the Pirate Museum remembered them, then he knew what the others looked like in human form.  If he'd been telling everybody, then it wouldn't be safe for them to come back into town and find her.  Was there any way she could get them a message to tell them they didn't have to?

First, she would have to find them.  Flavia didn't know her way around San Giuseppe.  She needed someone to help her, but the humans would refuse once they found out the friends she was looking for were the terrifying sea monsters Signora Pepitone had told them about!

Then she realized that Perla was waiting for her to take her turn. She had totally forgotten about the game.  “How many cards did I put down?” Flavia asked nervously.

“One.  You need one more, because I played a Cavallo,” said Perla.  She looked at the adults, then lowered her voice and asked, “did your friends really turn into monsters?”

“Yeah,” said Flavia.

“Were you scared?” Perla asked.

Perla was the only person here who hadn't said sea monsters were scary, but that might just be because she hadn't yet said anything about them at all.  Could Flavia risk telling her?  Even if she did, could Perla help?  Flavia licked her lips, then said, “they're supposed to do that.  That's how sea monsters work.”

For a moment Perla frowned, and Flavia was afraid she'd just made a terrible mistake.  Then, however, she leaned closer.  “Really?” she whispered, intrigued.

“Yeah.  When we get out of the water, we turn into humans, and when we get wet we change back.”  And having already said we, Flavia realized, she now had to tell the rest.  “Except me.  I don't.  I don't know why not, I just don't.”  She could never escape that one exception, not even now.

Perla was fascinated.  She looked over at the adults, then inched even closer to be absolutely sure they couldn't hear.  “So... your parents were sea monsters, but you just turned out as human?”

“Um... not exactly.”  Flavia wasn't sure how to even begin explaining the situation.  “But if the man at the museum remembers us, then he knows what my friends look like...”

“... and he'll tell everyone.”  Perla understood right away. “What are you gonna do?”

“I have to find them before anybody else does,” said Flavia. How could she possibly do that when she couldn't get in the water? All her life she'd longed to get out of it, and now she would give anything to dive back in!  “I don't even know where the sea is from here.”

“I do,” Perla said.  She gathered up the playing cards, and stood.  “Nonna!  I'm gonna show Flavia your bird collection, okay?”

“Careful with them,” Signora Pepitone warned.  “They're not toys.”

“I know.  I'm not a baby anymore,” said Perla.  She took Flavia's hand and led her into the bedroom, explaining on the way. “The birds are ceramic.  When I was little I used to play with them.  I gave them all names and decided which ones were friends and relatives, and they would have adventures.  Then I broke one, and Nonna wouldn't let me touch them again for ages.”  She turned on the bedroom light, and gently shut the door behind them.

[penname-artist]

Dusty’s Family Tree

I shit you not, I have a fic titled “Crophopper Family Reunion” that has been a WIP for almost two YEARS. At this point I’m more inclined to just rewriting the entirety of what’s already there. But with that story possibility in mind, I want to discuss Dusty’s, ahh, upbringing:

-Dustin Liam Crophopper is the youngest of two boys, born June 6th of 1990 (that’s right, he’s a Gemini. Y’all are in trouble)

-His older brother is Chase Aaron Crophopper, born two years prior on September 8th of 1988 (Easy to remember: it’s 9/9/88)

-Both boys are the pride and joy of parents Tess and Charlie Crophopper, both lifelong farmers

-The family lived in Wyoming (where both kiddos were born) until Dusty was about 2, when they decided to move their stead into Minnesota for better job opportunities. They lived in a patch of land a little ways from Propwash Junction, but just close enough to make a drive up there or a decent walk

-The saying “One child’s an angel, the other’s a demon” rings very true for Tess; she loves both her children and would never pick favorites, but let’s just say Dusty gave her a LOT more gray hairs on her head than Chase ever could. That child was accident-prone.

-The boys basically grew up knowing Dottie and Chug; all of their families were local business owners, and being from such a small place they all got thrown into the same homeschool cirriculum. (That’s right ya boy’s HOMESCHOOLED, just like ME. ...FUN FACT. and it all makes fucking sense now don’t it)

-Despite the distance between the family at this point in their lives, the Crophoppers were all from pilot families, and flew in to meet up around the holidays. Dusty and Chase were the babies of the family for a long time, given all their cousins were older than them. Dusty took it all in stride. Chase? Well, he could have lived without the cheek-pinching.

-They had all the classic redneck homeschool children works; a self-made treehouse, a tire swing over the pond, a pile of random scrap items in a field that they turned into an obstacle course, free access to cattle fields, corn fields, and a forest of trees to climb, and at SOME point they had a four-wheeler too, but they kind of sort of crashed it into a mudpit and never saw it again (well actually Charlie had to tow it out and it was busted but the point still stands)

-They also had an old Nintendo console. Dusty loved the Mario games no matter how much he sucked at them (he still sucks at them)

-Dustin goes by a few different nicknames to his family; “Dusty” of course has always been the most prominent, but several family members also call him by his middle name, Liam, because it’s his middle name which came from his grandfather (Tess’s dad)

-Dusty started working his first official job when he was fifteen, when he earned his pilot’s license to help Leadbottom out with his own crop fields. The family was trying to help him out since he was the last living member of his family and didn’t have anyone else to take on the job for him. He did promise that the fields would eventually be inherited to the Crophoppers given that now they’re essentially family friends.

-Chase moved back to Wyoming in his early 20s to work on a cattle ranch, and eventually married and had a daughter. Her name is Piper, and she is the world to not just her parents, but also her Favorite Orange Uncle.

-Tess has the literal short end of the stick in the household; not only is she the only female of the house, but she’s also the shortest, at 5′3″, while her boys are both about the same height as their dad (Charlie and Chase are both 6′1″, Dusty’s 6′0″). But that doesn’t really stop her, she can still grab earlobes from that height.