#cowardlyhorrorraven

[sundimus]

Request for Raven! 56. “It brings out your eyes.” / Grollow /// A picnic is not something that Hollow normally gets to enjoy.

Dirtmouth, while nice and quaint, doesn’t have an atmosphere fit for the pleasantries of an activity that requires good scenery. And then there’s the other issue of Hollow not wanting to delve deep below the well. Forgotten Crossroads are too tight for them, and it makes them too nervous to traverse, even with help. Ghost had suggested using the Old Stag as help, but that gave Hollow the new fear of accidentally breaking the stag’s back should they try to climb on it. But then they met Grimm, and they learned of his ability to not only teleport himself, but to also be able to teleport other people anywhere he wanted them to go. He has told them that he only ever uses the ability for his own use since the fire that consumes him would end up consuming his traveling partner as well, and unlike him, they wouldn’t be able to survive it. Hollow doesn’t ask whether he knows this from experience or not. But as it turns out, Hollow happens to be one of the few bugs that can handle the flames of the Nightmare Heart. Their void can’t be consumed by anything, not even light, for darkness is the one that casts shadows. Teleporting with Grimm doesn’t hurt them. It feels more like they’ve been wrapped with a very warm blanket. A blanket so warm it almost feels like it’s been set on fire. There’s nothing stopping them from traveling with him, and when they suggest to him to go on a picnic with them to the Queen’s Gardens, the most stunning place they know, he doesn’t hesitate to take them there. They settle in a secluded corner of the gardens, purposefully away from their mother who they know bears ill will towards Grimm and his group, but still surrounded with lush green leafs and the most vibrant and colorful plants in the entire kingdom. “What an amazing place that you have picked for our date, love.” Grimm comments when he sits down politely next to them. “I have a feeling that I am not welcomed in this particular area, but that’s never stopped me before,” he grins wickedly, almost as though he’s telling himself an old joke. Hollow replies with their own encouraging chirp. If being in love means breaking unspoken rules, then so be it. They set their special Hornet-made weave basket in between the two of them, opening it up to reveal the contents of their picnic food. Grimm leans over to look inside, and is unsurprised to see the basket having been filled to the brim with various honey treats and honeycombs. “Well, we all have our own passions,” he says, reaching over with his long fingers to grab a treat and popping it into his mouth. They both sit quietly together, snacking on the seemingly endless amount of honey as the plants around them vibrate with life. Grimm spots something in a bush next to Hollow, and they stare at him quizzically when he leans over to pluck it out. It’s a flower. A blooming, bright, pink flower whose petals are large enough to almost completely cover Grimm’s entire hand. “Hmm. Pretty,” he mutters. His eyes flash towards them, and they can feel themself growing excited when he starts moving closer to them. He stops face to face with them, and leans up to gently rest the flower on a hook of one of their horns, the stem being long enough and carrying enough weight to prevent it from falling down. He sits back down, admiring his work. “There we go. A beautiful flower fit for the most beautiful being in the kingdom. It really brings out your eyes, I think.” They duck their head, embarrassed, but they grab his hand and squeezes it, the action and compliment bringing a dark blush to their cheeks. They think he’s sweeter than honey, but he probably wouldn’t appreciate it much if they stuck a honeycomb to his head.

[daily-mossfly]

Hi! Just a quick question: Would you be ok If I did your mossfly tile as an embroidery? Thank you nad I hope you have a great day!

//:0!!!!!! I'd be absolutely delighted!!!!! You gotta show me when you're done :D

[publiccmenace]

Thanks for all the ash, dad and 2, 3, 5, 14 and 15 for the fic asks? That fic is sitting squarely in my rainy-day bookmarks, it's one of my favourites!

2: What scene did you first put down?

Hornet teaching Ghost to sew!

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

“Once again, they hung weightless for a moment, and then her silk sang the familiar song of a solid anchor, tugging her along towards her needle.”

This fic was the first where I properly experimented with Hornet’s silk singing, in a sense. This line Sparks Joy for me, because I feel I really hit the nail on the head with how I wanted to portray it.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Hornet Isn’t Mean To Ghost In This Essay I Will

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

action..... harde. It definitely taught me that I needed to get much better at doing anything remotely suspenseful!

Fic!

[mrslittletall]

My favourite fox of yours is Off Balance! I love the familial relationship you created!

Thank you so much ^^ I certainly love to write on it and have to apologize for the wait for the next chapter, I needed to finish some other projects. But the creative break also was good, because I figured out some scenes to write for it in the meantime ^^ Soon I sit myself on it again! Also, that is off subject and probably fault of auto correct, but I love that you wrote “fox” instead of fic xD

[ruthlesslistener]

Hi! For the fandom asks: T, O, and D?

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

-I already answered this one but; naturally intersex/sexless gods for Hollow Knight. They’re immortals so thoroughly steeped in magic that there is just no way they go off a binary gender or sex model, if they even have one at all. When you can shapeshift, come back from death, create realms out of dreams, why go for the trouble of gender? It’s a stupid concept anyways. Hornet being known as the Gendered Child wasn’t just a coincidence; as a demigoddess, she naturally fell into that category of ‘we don’t fucking know until the kid does’. They shapeshift into whoever they want to be, if they do decide they want to play that game

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

Last of the Wilds by Nightwish has SUPER powerful Hornet vibes, don’t @ me. My entire playlist for her is comprised of songs that are all wild, fierce, and sad, but that song always jumps out at me for her

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t (again: be nice)

-Grimm/Hollow. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I headcanon Hollow to be aro and Grimm to both be vastly older than them and vastly younger, so figuring out his standing with them is a little fucky. The sexualities I assign gods are also complex (Homestuck quadrant levels of complex) and shift based on whether or not they’re in season, too, so he’s much better off with Brumm than actually courting a powerful, potentially territorial Higher Being like Hollow. They just don’t match well with the way I characterize them; the closest I can gets is associates-with-benefits. (Which is admittedly something that might be fun to poke at, but in a more specific au than in the interpretation of canonverse I usually write)

Lemm/Quirrel is another one that is on-and-off for me but I blame that more on me still getting the feel for Lemm than it not jiving with me bc its super cute and I’ve loved the content for them so far

Send me fandom asks!

[aurumacadicus]

cowardlyhorrorraven replied to your post I think I’m about to buy a bra without underwire...

I’ve only ever owned wire-free bras and they are comfy as heck! Good luck

I was honestly not aware it was even an option for me. I’m super busty and so are all the women on my dad’s side of the family and they told me that I needed the wire/stays so that it would support me better.

This bra is super comfortable? It feels a little weird but that could mostly be because I’m basically just waiting for it to fail me. It’s hard to believe that I’m almost thirty and never had a bra without an underwire.

[queerfictionwriter]

Hi! I hope you are having a good day! I just wanted to let you know that your support towards me means a lot! Thank you so much for being my mutual for so long and I appreciate you and your presence on my blog! Thank you :) You rock!! And keep being you!

OMG. I need you to know that this immediately made my day better! I’m glad that being long-term mutuals brought you joy <3 (What can I say? You got the goods!)

To the love betwixt mutuals <3

[vivifrage]

Hi! For the fandom asks: O, T, X? Thank you!

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of?

Okay so I went with “I’ll pick the first song that YouTube shows me on my front page.”

It’s Take Me To Church.

Which, that one and Like Real People Do, I feel are definitely a White Lady/Pale King mood. Specifically, PK talking to his wife. That funky lil wyrm loves his wife so much. Like, the charm made for their marriage is the Kingsoul.

(I also theorize it shows he’s still alive, because when you reunite the halves, you get a steady, if slow, flow of Soul. Which, dead things don’t provide Soul, so you’re skimming off his Soul.)

Also just Take Me To Church gains a fun new dimension when they’re both gods and it looks like the Pale King got a lot more worship from the populace than the White Lady did.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything) 

I’ve answered this one before, alas I cannot think of any more! I don’t tend to do a lot of very strict headcanons, I am very much “If you make it work, that works for me.”

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM 

Ohoo. Precious babey in particular? Let’s see how far I can go there. (This won’t be in any particular order.)

Legion from Mass Effect

Tailgate from Transformers MTMTE/LL

The Hollow Knight from Hollow Knight

Grunt from Mass Effect (krogan son!)

Ordis from Warframe

My Tenno from Warframe

tbh like, all of the Scavengers from MTMTE/LL

Thank you so much for the ask!!!

[actingwithportals]

Request for @cowardlyhorrorraven - (Ghost telling Hornet about Midwife trying to eat them):

AU: We Are Wide Awake Now

______________________________

“Midwife tried to what?” “Eat. Me,” Ghost signed, pointing between her and themself and waving their stubby little arms emphatically. As if their words alone did not get the point across well enough. “Oh, there’s no need to be so dramatic,” Midwife argued. “I didn’t even take a bite.” “You tried!” the little terror accused, their blank mask somehow conveying more emotion than Midwife had ever thought possible, regarding her previous experience with the child. Perhaps it had something to do with the void that settled more thoroughly inside their carapace. Or perhaps it was simply because they felt more comfortable to express themself in front of their sister. “Ah, but I did not succeed,” Midwife continued. “No harm done; wouldn’t you say?” “No!” they snapped their fingers shut in forced, repetitive motions. “Much harm done! Internal harm! Feelings harmed!” “I am sorry, Little Ghost,” Hornet said sympathetically. “Would it make things better if she were to apologize?” The small Vessel looked between their sister and Midwife, their eyeless stare eventually falling solely on her and scrutinizing her with that rippled darkness. Midwife had to resist the urge to shudder. “I am certain she did not mean any real offense,” Hornet explained. “Midwife is not cruel for the sake of it. And she would not make such attempts again. Isn’t that right?” The last words were directed to her, and they dripped with a sharp warning. Ah, so much like her mother. Midwife couldn’t deny the pride she felt at hearing that tone, even if it was aimed her way. “Of course,” she agreed. “I would never wish to harm our princess’s dear sibling.” The little Ghost continued to glare at her, but something in their shoulders seemed to decide to relax, even if only slightly. With a moment more of hesitation, they slowly nodded. “Good,” Hornet said, looking from them back to her. “Well? Let’s have it, then.” Midwife sighed, a deep, longsuffering sound. “I sincerely apologize to the Little Ghost of Hallownest, Lord of Shades and God of Void, elder – yet smaller – sibling to my dear princess and daughter of my closest friend. I swear that I will never again attempt to take a bite out of you and will instead seek prey elsewhere. Is that satisfactory?” The Vessel seemed to consider her words for a moment before slowly nodding, the tension in their shell reducing. They looked between herself and Hornet once more, returning their gaze back to Midwife long enough to sign, “I accept,” before running back off into the Den. Cheeky little thing. Was that all they had to say after such a heartfelt apology? Midwife huffed. “I think I like your taller sibling better,” she grumbled. Hornet shook her head, the tips of her claws rubbing small circles against the point of her mask between her eyes. Yes, siblings were exhausting, weren’t they? Especially little menaces who also happened to be gods. Midwife couldn’t help but wonder for the rest of the day just what a god would taste like.

[sundimus]

Request for Raven! “Leave me here to die.” / Spreading Out / Grollow /// “Darling.” Under normal circumstances, Hollow would feel shame at the exasperated tone of their love’s voice. They’re not known to be difficult, rather preferring to go out of their way to be as least bothersome as possible; especially to those they care about. But these are not normal circumstances, and they’re spread out along their shared bed in agony, letting Grimm know just how disgruntled they are by the constant low whining sounding from their body. “Leave me here to die,” they sign to him, feebly moving their fingers. They didn’t even know that Vessels could get sick, and yet here they are being bested by the common cold. Grimm clicks his tongue, but gently lays a washcloth on their head directly in between their horns. “You are not dying, sweetness.” He presses a kiss to one of their horns and, very weakly, they purr in response. “I will not allow it.”

[stagbells]

Wonders Of The Unknown

From: @bugbeee​

To: @cowardlyhorrorraven​

Notes: Hey there! I had tons of fun writing this, and I hope you like it too! Thank you so much for the prompt, and enjoy!

Hornet shuffled minutely, claw tips tapping the top of the table impatiently as she waited for the puffed up advisor to finish his tirade. Being queen was exhausting. Fulfilling, but absolutely exhausting, and if it weren’t for the fact that Hollow had literally bolted when she offered the throne to them, and that Ghost would most likely declare all nobles illegal just for fun, then she would have thrusted the position onto one of her siblings. As it was, she had to deal with the nobles by herself while Ghost went off on adventures and Hollow played with the newly hatched grubs. But for all her grumbling, she didn’t regret being queen. It was a duty she had always been trained for, but never one she had resented. She liked the monotony of paper filing because it meant she was safe, she liked listening to people ramble on self-importantly because it reminded her that she was no longer alone, she... tolerated the court’s decorum, mainly because it was funny to watch Ghost steamroll through it without a care.   All in all, Hornet was... content. The infection was gone, she had her siblings by her side, and Hallownest was flourishing back into the kingdom she had once known.   Finally, the advisor finished, and she nodded absentmindedly, eyes flicking down to the notes she had taken while he rambled. A request for an increased amount of teachers and researchers. She could have groaned. She didn’t understand why Quirrel insisted on these pointless formalities, when she had told him time and time again that he was allowed to use whatever he needed. Ghost would give her those sad eyes if she didn’t, and no-one wanted that. “Please tell the head archivist that he is of course allowed to increase the amount of researchers, so long as he’s the one to deal with all the paperwork,” she told the representative, who nodded sharply. “Of course, Queen Hornet,” he replied, giving a deep bow, before scuttling off. She sank down into her chair, and let herself sigh for a bit. Then the door banged open, and her guards stiffened, weapons turned on to the intruder. She waved them away without looking, eyes closed as she waited for their sibling to do their usual ritual once they came back home. Ghost scuttled inside, body fully grown after months of waiting for their last moulting, but they still forgot their size sometimes as they scooped her up. It didn’t matter that she was the same size, they would always be overjoyed to no longer be the baby of the group. Still, she couldn’t stop the laugh escaping her mask as they bumped their mask into hers, eyes wide in excitement. “Yes, yes, I missed you too, little Ghost,” she chuckled, patting their mask with her hands. They shook their head at her words, making a sweeping gesture with one claw as though to argue against her calling them ‘little’. “Come on then, I’m done with court for today. Put me down, and let’s return back to our quarters.” One of her aides tried to stutter out something, but she shook her head. “I can deal with the rest of the requests tomorrow. For now, I’d like to properly greet my sibling,” she told them, and Ghost lifted her up higher, mask swaying back and forth in delight, before they slowly lowered her back to the ground. She knocked her head affectionately against their shoulder in thanks. With both hands free, they began to sign to her. “Missed you, sister!” they signed out happily, squeezing her fingers gently. “Anything new?” “Not a lot has happened since you’ve been gone, mostly the usual bureaucracy. Hollow’s been helping Midwife out with the infirmary and the grubs, and she’s absolutely delighted by their presence. Apparently they’re natural,” Hornet explained as they left the throne room, Ghost nodding along to her words.   “Of course! Sibling is very good.” “They are, aren’t they. Make sure to tell them that! They always get so flustered, it’s adorable.” “Teasing sibling?” Ghost’s eyes were crinkled in amusement, and she shrugged. “They shouldn’t make it so easy. Besides, it’s not teasing, I’m complimenting them!” “They would disagree. But they deserve compliments!” “Absolutely. I’m glad you agree with me, Ghost. Speaking of Hollow, do they know you’re here?” she asked, chuckling when they rapidly shook their head. “Nope! Surprise!” “Of course. Well then, let’s go surprise them, hm?” She gave them a grin, and they pulled her close to bump against her cheerfully.   Finally, they stepped into the infirmary, and she spotted Hollow sitting close to one of the patients, Midwife directing them with various herbs and bandages. She nudged Ghost back, cocking her head to the side to signal them to hide. They nodded quickly, and darted against the wall, claw held up in affirmation. “Hollow, are you available?” Hornet called out, and they turned to look at her, eyes brightening at the sight of her. They shrugged, hands currently busy with bandages, and she lifted her eyes to look at her old caretaker, who smiled at her. “Hello dear! We’re almost done with this, and then I’ll let your sibling go. They’ve been absolutely wonderful today, I’ve never had such an attentive apprentice!” “You usually eat your apprentices, Midwife.” The older bug waved her off. “Bah, they shouldn’t have stuck their heads so close- oh, your pressure has risen quite a bit, dear,” she fussed, peering down to look at the now pale patient. Hornet hid her smile, shaking her head minutely at the obliviousness of Midwife. After a few more moments, Hollow finally finished, and looked quizzically at their teacher, who waved them off. “I can finish this, dearie. You’re done for the day. Relax, have a bite to eat, and sit with your sister!”   They nodded happily, and made their way to her, a hand raised in greeting, before they signed: “You needed me?” “Can a sister not want to spend time with her elder sibling?” she asked teasingly, and they ducked their head, knocking their mask against hers. “Of course. Would be delighted-” Hollow stumbled backwards as a blur launched against them, their eyes widened in panic, before they relaxed. Their long limbs came around to hold Ghost as though they were back in their tiny form, and not almost the same height as Hollow themself. They embraced briefly, before Ghost wriggled out of their grip and began rapidly talking to them, hands flashing in various ways. Hornet grinned at their enthusiasm, and wandered over to throw an arm around the both of them.   It was so... easy to fall into the casual affection Ghost gave both her and Hollow, and it always warmed her soul to receive their gentle touches. She’d never been afforded the chance to be so tactile, but now... now she could embrace her siblings without fear of an attack, could be soft and gentle without worrying about survival.   “Come on, we’re blocking the hallways. Let’s get back to our rooms. I want to hear what you two have been up to!” she told them, laughing at the way Ghost nodded rapidly, wiggling out from her hold and tugging the two of them along. Hollow trailed behind obediently, but winked at Hornet in amusement. She couldn’t stop the flutter of delight in her chest, at the warmth that spread through her carapace at the sight of both of her siblings. “I love you both,” she said softly into the corridor. Before she knew it, she was being scooped up into a tight hug. Hollow buried their mask against her shoulder, and Ghost’s arms were wrapped tightly around both of them.   “Love you too, sister,” they told her wordlessly, and she smiled. No, she thought, cocooned in the warmth of her siblings, she had nothing to fear with her family at her side.  

[publiccmenace]

Hi! for the fanfic ask: 5,6 >:) 37 and 38 please.

5: Share one of your strengths

Abstract soul-crushing angst baybeee!! Hollow is a favorite of mine for a reason >:3

6: Share one of your weaknesses

Fluff, comfort, the soft stuff. I get so blushy and embarrassed when writing it it’s unreal

37: Talk about your current wips

ohhh boy!!

Well right now we’ve got

- the longfic that was meant to be 20k (it is not. It. It is not.) that’s basically me violently shaking the main three going “GET THERAPY P L E A S E”

- the dead one where ghost delivers invitations for sheo and nailsmith’s wedding all around the kingdom that I’m planning to revive soon (nobody in the discord has heard about this one yet!! I started it when I first joined the fandom >:3c)

- all. all my angsty oneshots from the various aye that are likely dead unless inspiration strikes!

now I know this is a fanfic ask meme but I never get to talk about my original writing and my blog my rules >:D

- the Lesbian Pirate High Seas High Stakes Adventure (with dragons!!!!!)

- the goat and the dragon who are wives and get revenge on the goat’s crazy cult leader father for killing her brother and mother

- the short story collection set in an apocalyptic world on the morning of the final sunrise (it’s called One More Sunrise, I currently have 2.3 of the planned 5 stories written!)

38: Talk about a review that made your day.

right okay so the first comment on the hollow angstfic I posted on ao3 a bit back absolutely made me lose my mind. I still think about it, I have it screenshotted and saved in my “for bad days” folder, I literally am still riding that emotional high. like!!! god!!! Somebody I’ve never met came!!!!! And said!!! They liked my writing style!!! They liked my word choice!!! I would!! Lay down my life for them!!!!!

[mrslittletall]

Unpopular opinion! About the gaming industry and separately the youtube comunity

Salty on Main

For the Youtube community I get a more specific, because that is about german Let’s Players. I have been a part for it for around five years, making videos and uploading them, but it got stale and I stopped and now only stream now and then. Back then, I always tried to get as authentic as possible, so I bought myself a capture card, hooked my N64 on it and then spend hours to get the video in a form on Youtube that would be fine and synced with the sound.  Of course the quality of the video file got a bit down, but I was really proud because I could play on my N64 and because of all the extra work I put in (I even scaled it up so that it would be in HD).  But then some commenters were like “Hey, man, why don’t you use an emulator? Your images would look so much better then.” I was like “I don’t want to use an emulator, I want to use my original console.” This then went into full blown war where everyone, literally everyone was telling me that quality is more important than authenticity. It went so far that I left my own thread about the matter and never looked at it again. Fun fact: That thread in the LP message board got huge and I constantly saw it on the top page... The gaming community... I don’t even think I can have an onpopular opinion about it. I guess my most unpopular opinion is that I prefer to wait and play a polished and good game instead of wanting a game at once and it is rushed. 

[ruthlesslistener]

Hi! For the fanfic asks: How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them? Talk about a review that made your day. Thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Thanks for the asks!! Hope you have a wonderful day as well!

How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now?

-Tooo many. Toooooooo fuckin many. On top of Babiance and all the other fics that I need to update, I have a whole plethora of ideas for long fics and short snippets that I KNOW are going to turn out way longer than expected, as well as little drabbles that I’m poking at that I need to polish up. My work is never finished

Care to share one of them?

-One of the 15k short fic sorta deal things I’m working on is a story of how Grimm met Brumm, and how they started to grow closer and closer in their centuries traversing the dream realm, while also constantly being interrupted from reaching any sort of meaningful intimacy by the Ritual. It’s short right now, but it’s coming along! Nymm/Brumm is a quiet narrator and I usually have a harder time focusing on him than I do with Radiance, who practically rants all her lines, but it’s happening. Some more nebulous ideas I’ve drafted is a fic with queerplatonic Hollow and Quirrel based off a crackship convo on Discord and one where Ghost, reborn as the Lord of Shades, drags the Pale King back into the physical realm to use him as a way of scouring Hallownest (and their siblings) of old regrets, though I have no idea how to end the Pale King one and am not sure if writing the qpp Hollowquirrel one is going to work (given how weirdly specific the dynamic is)

Talk about a review that made your day.

-Would it be against the rules to say all of them??? XD Or at least all of the long ones?? No but seriously I wouldn’t be able to choose between them; all of them make me happy. I have this weird fear of ‘not doing things right’ so anytime I get a long review pointing out all the best bits in the fic, the self-confidence boost I get is INSANE. So thank you to all you long commentators, bc you make it easier to ignore my anxiety demons. And let me know what parts of the fic hurt you the most >:DD

Send me fic asks!

[actingwithportals]

Requested by @cowardlyhorrorraven - Ghost and Greenpath Vessel - overheating/using a cool cloth

AU: We Are Wide Awake Now

Spoilers for post-Estranged and All Alone (Act IV)

_______________________________

It was bad again. Not as bad as the last time, but still bad enough to make Ghost feel sick with worry. Their sibling’s void wasn’t stable, hadn’t been since their revival. Ghost knew it was their own fault, that something went wrong when they tried to reform the two siblings who wished to rejoin the world of the waking. Even though the void bent to their will and worked in tandem with their wishes, Ghost was still a far cry from knowing how to use it with any level of expertise. One successful god-killing did not make a master. And now their sibling suffered for it. Their shell was too hot, yet their limbs trembled with shivers as if they were cold. Sometimes their body would even suddenly spasm, and Sheo had to hold Ghost back the first time it happened to keep them from attempting to hold the smaller vessel down out of fear they might hurt themself. Because apparently restraint would have only hurt them more. They didn’t know what was wrong, or how to fix it. Only that there were small ways they could treat it, like lying close to them and letting their void hum softly against the others to soothe it into something more stable. And when even that wasn’t enough, they would turn to whatever normal bug remedies worked, like wrapping their sibling in blankets or putting a damp cloth over their mask. That’s what they did now, a cooling cloth placed over their eye sockets while Ghost’s hand stroked one of their horns gently, void humming to the other in soft rhythms. It was all they could do; all they could offer. Until they learned better how to fix what they broke, and finally grant their siblings the lives they were owed, that they had stolen from both all too long ago. At least it was something.

[sundimus]

Request for Raven! 33. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands.” / Ghoul /// “Close your eyes and hold out your hands.” Ghoul stares at their father, trying to convey to him as much of a sarcastic response as they can without flat out telling him about the problem in his demand.

It works, because Oro rolls his eyes and manually lifts up Ghoul’s arm and puts it over their own eyes, grumbling the whole time much to the vessel’s delight. “Keep your arm up there, smart ass,” he instructs them. “I have a present for you.” “What happened to calling me “gumdrop”, father?” Ghoul signs with their free hand, trying not to laugh. They lay it open palm up, waiting. They can hear Oro rummaging through something - a chest, maybe? - for a few seconds before they hear a pause, and then something closing. A moment later, a small metallic object gets put into their hand and they put their arm down. They see what looks to be a very small bracelet or a very large ring. It’s smooth, and gold, and it’s the best thing they have ever seen in their life. “I made that for you,” Oro tells them, sounding proud. “I had some spare metal laying around and figured, why not. It’s been a year since you’ve barged your way into my home and refused to leave, and now you have a ring for your horns. Happy Birthday. And the gold isn’t real; I painted that on. Do I look rich to you? I’m not.” Ghoul isn’t sure what a “birthday” is, but they appreciate the gift nonetheless. They reach up and put the ring on one of their horns, the weight of it bringing a surprising amount of comfort to them. “Thank you,” they respond before quickly wrapping their arms around him tightly. “No hugs,” he mumbles, hugging them back. They hear his words, but refuse to listen to them for now.