#pats horse. i just think they're neat

[torchickentacos]

Good news: hit 4k words today.

Bad news: it was on what was supposed to be a brief outline of a shitpost au, and I've only written the outline for 1 and a half chapters of it as well as a character sheet, and it's longer than half my actual-fic-oneshot wips end up being.

Good news again: pokeani western au. yeehaw.

[freddiekluger]

i love the "mike seeing the ghosts" idea SO much in general, so i've interspersed the main cap headcanon with some ones for the other ghosts- i love mike sm so thanks for requesting!!!

it started as a tickle in his throat, but come evening mike comes down with a serious chest infection. alison drives him to the doctor's in time to grab some antibiotics, but they've got a function at button house this week so for the most part alison has to keep her distance- can't afford for both of them to get sick, especially considering how many repairs, decorations, and vendor meetings still need to be sorted. mike pops a couple tablets before passing out.

the next morning, alison has to go out to run some errands, so mike finds himself stumbling to the kitchen for breakfast the next day. julian's already there, doing his trademark lunges while listening to the horse racing (it's become his ritual whenever the races are on- he's insufferable otherwise, so alison lets him keep the radio). they share a nod, and it's not until after mike sits down with his cereal that he realises he's just nodded at a dead politician with his balls out. between that and the phlegm in his chest, it was a rough start to the day to say the least.

after he gets over the whole "ohmygodicanseedeadpeopleholyshit" (and at least one reenactment of the hospital scene from the sixth sense), along with greeting the various ghosts he encounters on his way back to bed, via the loo (both him and mary got quite a shock when she "peeked on him at privy"), mike collapses onto the bed.

a pillow over his head, mike lets out a few substantial groans before hearing a cough that, surprisingly, doesn't come from him. he slides his head out from under the pillow and sits up to see a greying, slightly awkward figure in period military dress standing in the doorway. he assumes this must be the captain.

captain:

mike: hi?

captain: oh, hello. i was just on my way back from my morning run* and mary mentioned that you can, well, see us now.

mike: yep. [coughs] that's pretty much the deal. not sure why though

captain: oh that'll be the antibiotics you've got there. strong stuff, eh? anyways, i thought i'd stop by and say hello. hello

mike: hi. i would say nice to meet you, but [a coughing fit ensues]

captain: ahem, quite

[silence]

mike, holding up a video game casing: well, i was just gonna play this, if you don't mind?

*this is technically true. the captain is indeed, on the way back from his morning run, except his morning run finished half an hour ago, and he's been waiting for the right time to introduce himself to mike. unlike thomas, he doesn't expect anything to lead anywhere, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to be alone with the rather handsome buffoon.

mike's holding one of those war themed combat games, the kind with a vague plot but mostly battles and button mashing. the captain's temporarily distracted from staring at mikes arms, and starts quizzing him about the game itself. by the time the loading screen is done, mike's already gotten the impression that the captain doesn't want to leave for a few different reasons, and it's not like you have a WW2 army captain of hand to help you work out strategy every day, so they pretty quickly end up teaming up- long gone are mike's days of button mashing (or, mostly long gone. "sometimes it works!"). the only condition was that the captain had to stop calling mike 'michael'- mike said it reminded him of his grandad too much.

- the game has moments where your character can romance any of the other characters, regardless of gender- mike's a dirty player, the captain gets rather awkward when mike decided the best way to achieve his immediate goal is to seduce all relevant characters into giving up troop information, and mike would be lying if he didn't find it at least a little bit entertaining to watch

- in between levels, and when waiting for lives to replenish, mike asks cap about his time in the war, and the captain loves having someone to listen to all his stories (even if most of them are second hand). he keeps having to remind himself not to stare, because mike can actually notice his eyes wandering, but of course that just makes him even more aware of it and the cycle of awkward noises and obviously-not-looking continues. alison has let slip to mike that the captain is likely a bit of a bender, and is relatively flattered by the possibility of cap liking HIM (not to mention not wanting to accidentally send him into a toxic 40s shame spiral), so mike just keeps the friendly conversation going to keep cap feeling comfortable. the captain's crush migrates to the left, and by day four or five him and mike really are friends more than anything else- if there's one thing the captain couldn't stand, it would be turning into one thomas thorne, although he still gets a few butterflies when mike compliments his strategy after a tough level. (it's not every day you have the attention of a handsome man who thinks you're a genius- especially when you're dead)

- it warms alison's heart to see the captain having the closest thing to fun he's had since they arrived, and the whole ghost set up works well for her and mike- mike needs the company, and alison can't afford to get sick or fall behind on jobs

- kitty loves mike (not romantically, she just thinks he's neat!), and eventually joins him and cap for their video games. cap was dismissive of her at first (one part possessiveness over mike's time, one part disbelief that kitty could be a good player), but kitty ends up rivalling him when it comes to strategy. after one too many nights locked outside and having to break back in to her own home, she's become an expert at espionage (even if she won't admit her experience was anything other than a fun childhood game.) with cap and kitty helping him out, mike makes more progress in a single day than he had in a week of gameplay. not to mention, kitty could really use the confidence boost from mike's compliments which he gives to both of his gaming partners frequently, although he draws the line at kitty's georgian cough remedies

extras:

- fanny ignores him as overcompensation for Redding Weddy. well, i say ignore, but she's somehow always the first one to volunteer when alison asks one of the ghosts to check on him

- mike considers going down to the cellar to get a look at the plague ghosts. mike heads to the door. mike remembers the sheer amount of skeletons when they dug up the plague pit. mike pulls his blanket tighter around his shoulders and heads away from the door.

- obviously, thomas avoids mike wherever possible. mike barely even knows what thomas's voice sounds like by the time things go back to normal

- mike feels bad for humphrey, and keeps trying to pick his head up and place it amongst the action before remembering he can't actually touch him. he also feels bad for screaming everytime he sees humphrey's body stumbling around. it was in the bathroom one night, and let's just say it was lucky there was a toilet nearby.

- pat invites himself to watch mike, kitty, and the captain as they tackle the final levels together, on the proviso that he doesn't make a sound. pat's rubbish at tactical planning, even if he can plan a mean scouts activity, but he's just happy to watch. it's nice to see the cap really having some fun, and see kitty included. it'll be sad for everyone once mike finishes his course of antibiotics

- thing eventually do go back to normal, and the captain misses mike's company far more than he thought he would. mike's still around, but not being able to properly talk to him is tough, and the captain realised that he was maybe more fond of mike than he convinced himself (mike will still make a thomas thorne out of him yet). mike strangely misses the funny soldier, and the georgian 'battlemistress' (kitty chose the title herself), and alison finds herself constantly passing messages between them. they're currently testing out all the ghost-communication equipment under the sun (within a reasonable price range) to see if they can find a better solution

thanks sm for this one, and so sorry for the delay! i've been battling with hardcore brain fog, so it's been difficult to create totally new stuff with words- hope this was up to scratch

[starmansymphony]

kirby or mother for the blorbo ask thing? they are on the brain rn

doin both why not hehe. will be crossing out some parts of the definitions that don't really apply to my choices. (ask game)

kirby!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): uhhh hmmmm, i'd say that depends? let's go with galacta knight, morpho knight and kirby themself on rotation.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): GOOEY!!!!! GOOEY MY LITTLE BROTHER I LOVE HIMMMM

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): the animal friends! i'm particularly partial to rick and nago personally.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): channel ppp! i love those waddle dees so much, they're just little guys

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): MAGOLOR

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): hyness lol. pestered him in my void canon and i'll do it again

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): hmm. idk but knowing modern kirby lore i wouldn't be surprised if super hell showed up in forgotten land

mother! (including cogdis here hehe)

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): i'mmmm gonna try to have one from each game? oh god here i go mother 1/earthbound beginnings: gonna be honest i have no idea. maybe teddy? maybe?? idk i think he's neat??? earthbound: ness? maybe paula? gonna be honest i'm trying to pick playable/major characters and it's Very Hard bc i haven't thought about the canon trilogy in So Long. mother 3: duster, probably! i think he's neat. mother cogdis: ngl the Entire Ship Crew

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): ALINIVAAAAAAAAAR HEHE HE'S VERY CUTE AND ABSOLUTELY SHAPED

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): for the canon triology, eve, leder and pork trooper! i have no idea why but i'm fond of them. for cogdis tHAT WOULD BE DOCTOR YOOGHURT. APPRECIATE HIM.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): BUZZ BUZZ OF EARTHBOUND FAME AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! and king!!! i wanna give king a pat!!!! and picky too!!!! for cogdis, enby foppy and mr jupiter!

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): giegue! even when you DON'T take cogdis into account!

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): OH SHIT I FORGOT TO FILL THIS ONE OUT BEFORE POSTING IT UHHHH I HAVE NO IDEA??? I THINK I'D FEEL TOO BAD FOR IT UNLESS WE'RE TALKING COGDIS SPECIFICALLY IN WHICH CASE GREYFACE PROBABLY LOL

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): i'm sorry porkey i do sympathize with your plight but i Would send you to super hell.