#they're. critters. yeah. sure are critters that critter

[egginfroggin]

Child unhand that marsupial

[scoriarose]

The Language of Love

If you are already convinced snakes are incapable of love, this post is not for you. But if you are open to the possibility that maybe they do, and maybe they love us too, this post explores that thought. Perhaps snakes feel it differently, perhaps they feel it the same humans do- though even humans experience love, be it platonic or romantic, differently from individual to individual. Different people also show their love in different ways as well! Yet still even with a divide between species most of us have felt love from our furry and feathered friends. Perhaps our scaly friends are also telling us they love us, we just might not understand.

When I first got my girl Scoria, if I could tell her only one thing it would be, "I love you." When I held her, I wondered if she understood how much I cared about her, and would do anything to protect her. When I pet her, I wondered if she knew how amazing I thought she was and enjoyed spending time with her.

And then I started watching livestreams of wild snakes, and how they act toward each other. (The above still is from Project Rattle Cam!) When the babies see a trusted adult, they slither all over them! How many times had my girl happily slithered all over me going no where in particular? I imagine that my finger petting her soft as a feather was probably quite similar to another snake greeting her in such a way.

Sakura is much more shy, yet wants to form a bond with me. I see it when she fights her fear to vibe with me. Sometimes she'll sit for hours at the edge of her tank nearest me, not wanting to come out, but just be near me.

Snakes like rattlesnakes and garter snakes will vibe peacefully with each other, with baby rattlesnakes sleeping near the adult rattlesnakes they trust to keep them safe.

Perhaps, when our shy snakes sits with us, facing their fears they're saying, "I'm scared, but I want to be closer with you." And maybe when our snakes slither all over us, going nowhere in particular, like their wild counterparts do with each other they're saying, "I'm so happy to see you! You're my favorite to be with!" I wonder if they could tell us one thing it would be "I love you, best friend!" And it's okay, best friend. I love you too, and already know. <3

[kalims]

⭒ㅤwith a disney princess

premise. surely there's been a mistake, cause there's no way someone out of place like you ended up at nrc, right? (spoiler alert: months later and they will fight whoever might drag you to rsa)

featuring. dorm leaders (from diasomnia to heartslabyul)

content. at best this might imply a female reader, given they're based of a 'princess' but I tried to take the gender vague and focused mainly on the qualities of them! mc has hair in the rapunzel part lol

note. no beta we die lol. I worked on this by group so i honestly don't remember if I accidentally gendered mc. I absolutely love idias part lmaoooo

malleus (aurora)

ooh intimidating x soft couple.

you look way out of place in somewhere like nrc of all places, given your mother is the infamous sleeping beauty (infamous, in the college’s standards that is.) your kindness is easily taken advantage of, even if you do realize it there is always forgiveness spared for the undeserving.

said kindness was extended to the quiet malleus.

surprise no surprise. he’s impeccably drawn to the sparkling aura you seem to exclude. malleus feels as though there are traces of familiar magic always hovering around you, like its embowed into your very being. a blessing would be a better word for it.

well, he’s just curious but if he were to ever ask he’d be met with the confirmation that you were, indeed blessed by the same three fairies your mother was blessed by (minus the curse… ironically he’s quite similar to the same lady that your mother loved and looked up to.)

he’s just fascinated. something as glittery as you, shiny like gold would’ve been whisked away to his nice tower, homey. he’d tell you. almost as if making its image seem heavenly. (lowkey highkey getting your consent for kidnapping)

animals always seem to flock around you everywhere you go, they sneak around to reach you. in your dorm, during lunch, even in class. there’s either a bird on your shoulder or a squirrel making itself comfortable atop your head. its a curious sight, critters don’t really like him much.

in short they run away, humans or animals alike are both afraid of his presence it seems.

so he’s incredibly still when you nudge an adorably round bird in his palm, peering at it with cautious eyes. tense as a statue lest it flies away.

cue staring contest.

he felt incredibly accomplished that day, and immersed him in the role of making this creature like him. leaving seeds, offering it the most sought off food from the valley, literally conjuring a small home for it. everything.

HE’S SO HAPPY.

malleus often asks of you to sing, perhaps its the blessing talking but its the most unique form of sound he’d ever heard in his life, the more he sings the more he wants to imbue his very being with the loveliness of your song.

always following you around like a lost puppy (lizard?) any evil that actually wants to take advantage of your unfortunate naive desire for peace and kindness is scared away. although malleus would never want your interactions to be reduced entirely because of him, he only starts looking like a demon one he figures out their motive is less than fitting for you.

“yeah, the ingredients were to complicated for me to remember—”

“oh! perhaps i can help you?”

spots the demon behind you (just your lovely giant staring them to their grave.)

“you know what i actually got it— sorry for wasting your time.” you watch them, confused as they dip.

you look to him, as though to ask what just happened but he merely casts you an oblivious glance and shrugs.

favorite past time → coddling you in his dragon form.

he was doubtful whether he should pull through in actually showing it to you, since you were already such an angel towards him. would it be a stretch if he let a selfish desire get in the way? perhaps you’d get scared if you see how large he is there—or if he’s—

idia (rapunzel)

okay that amazed smile on you was totally worth it.

wow your hair is fire.

he should have never made a comment about it in the first place because now you’re completely confused about his reference, were you living in like… in isolation? a cave? you’re a little less worse than the scarabia’s dorm leader when it comes to being oblivious.

just two idiots miscommunicating, he atleast is trying to make an effort to explain that he doesn’t mean it literally but his wording is so bad that you get absolutely nothing from what he is trying to infer.

okay your hair though.

“why is that person stuck in that square!?”

good thing ortho was near cause you almost charged towards a television and judging by the, pan!? in your grip you definitely would have smashed the screen trying to be righteous and rescue the character.

okay then. 1. don’t let you near electronics, specifically when its playing something.

you are a literal danger to his society. shivers

you’re always asking something like “what are those glowing balls on the ceiling?” those are lights… “why is that thing speaking?!” that’s a speaker… “why is it on fire?” oh that’s his hair, he doesn’t really know either it was just like that.

it does feel a little nice to get asked like that and he’d know the answer (its literally the most common knowledge ever but whtv)

EPIC! idia is now trying to figure out how resistant your hair is. its literally like, the most OP shield there is!

at first he had some reservations. like, used a knife once and was flabbergasted when it came back in half. your hair didn’t even move an inch. then he got motivated and tried a sharper sword, longer, and larger of course. he let ortho handle it cause he probably would have stabbed himself.

“wtf.”

flinches cause the half of the sharp end came completely off and stabbed right beside his head onto the wall.

what are the limits of it?! had some doubts before using one of the tech he came up with, it could literally cut through a diamond and he isn’t sure if its entirely safe but you’re all for it cause you were always curious whether your hair could even get cut in the first place.

anyway you’re way too happy to be near a lazer that could obliterate you and its kinda infecting him. yikes.

less than happy cause the lazer literally got reflected by your hair and hit itself so it’s just gone.

on the bright side he can use you as a scapegoat (in a good way)

alright. 2. don’t enrage you unless he wants to experience getting hit by a pan really hard.

wow. he felt that for days.

maybe its the hit or he’s just feeling a little woozy whenever you’re around.

definitely the pan.

vil (mulan)

bold x shy couple

pretty x pretty defender

he’s used to people heeding his suggestions but damn, are you a stubborn one.

not only have you not listened to his propositions for becoming a more refined person (cause the way you held yourself was too.. much for him to ignore, and it bothered him for a long time until he decided to help you.) but he can respect you, he supposes. not a lot of people can stay true to themselves.

it seems like epel, the boy himself has taking a liking to you. no wonder he’s been becoming more rebellious lately.

vil would never stoop so low to purposely direct someone advice that would change their entire self, decimate their unique traits. but all he told you was out of the goodness of his heart, if you’d be less clumsy of your ways your reputation would be better for the long run.

not being respected amongst nrc is never a good thing.

still, you’re still headstrong. never too overconfident, nor cocky. just a humble soul, that’s rare so he tends to stick by you if he ever wanted an honest opinion cause people just tell him what he wants to nowadays. vil never enjoyed the biased remarks.

more often than not he enjoys making your already pretty face, prettier than it is.

finds out you’re no bark and all bite, he never even knew you could take down someone who has an advantage over you in physical terms. come on, its savanaclaw. apparently the guy had spared him an unsavory comment and (apparently, in your defense. only told him a few words, got attacked so it was self defense.)

it came a surprise to him. seeing as you’re generally relaxed in nature, your military prowess a mystery to most since you seemed content with resorting matters with peace. though you seem to lack more restraint when it comes to your close relationships.

vil scolding you in the infirmary (you don’t have a scratch, and the guy whose pride you handed back to is in some corner lamenting cause he can hear you guys.) and you just taking it.

contrary to how you first treated to each other. you seem to be more prone to his opinions, or suggestions the more you progress with each other. he admits maybe he was too outright in his manner of speaking the first time, but it only highlights the change you’d gone through with each other.

you’re the perfect doll, in a way. not in a demeaning way or anything but its so satisfying to him to use products on your face just for the sole reason that you sit so still. his absolute favorite past time is skin care together even if you mostly just follow his lead.

you and epel must be kindred spirits, once he was on his way to retire to the indoors of pomefiore. seeing as it started raining, heavy so it meant it would stay for a while. and then paused when he spotted you both sharing words.

and planting apple seeds in the rain? both of you are stained with the rain, some dirt and mud alike. and vil had never looked so mortified. so just cause you don’t protest when he cares for you doesn’t mean you’re bothered by getting dirty he guesses.

“you both… clean yourselves up, i’ll brew medicine lest you fall under the weather.” ← disappointed sigh.

kalim (jasmine)

ended up waiting for you both to finish under the covers and ushered you both to baths.

you have a tiger!

just living char x their absolute biggest stan

wow you have a tiger.

did he mention you have a tiger?

majority of nrc knows not to mess with you haha, if it’s not obvious already with the seemingly lax tiger that behaves like some sort of overgrown cat following you around and growls at someone when you aren’t looking.

then you always raise a brow at the people who tell you otherwise. “bab doesn’t bite.”

kalim is lowkey highkey their biggest fan, i mean. jamil is having the worst year of his life dragging kalim away wherever you seem to be because the first apparent instinct of the boy is to try to pet the tiger cause it’s ‘cute’.

at some point jamil had to investigate your routine throughout the day, what you do, where you go at specific times like after classes conclude to make sure kalim doesn’t cross path with you.

well, not necessarily you but rather your… tiger. which is hard, honestly. you seem to visit scarabia a lot for a reason unknown. jamil would be suspicious you’d be planning something but all you really do is stay out on the balcony with your companion.

but alas, fate would have it otherwise.

“hi,” kalim blurts before he could remember his friend’s warning. you turn, along with your… also friend who watches him closely. you blurt out a greeting back, seeing as it’s courtesy, you seem to be amused at his fascinated eyes staring at your tiger.

“want a pet?” you offer, bab making sounds of protest.

jamil almost had a heart attack seeing the two of you attached by the hip, only calming down a few weeks later. seeing as your companion wouldn’t pose as much danger as he assumed, seeing as the tiger’s protectiveness started extending to the ray of sunshine.

rich couple ig. everyone overhears your conversations and doubles over. “i had a small statue of gold made for bab, for you.” and then a; “oh, thanks. but we already have a lot at home. hmm…”

actually it’s not really the manner of being attached, more like two following you. kalim, and then your cutie pie tiger.

your reserved nature in particular greatly contrasts kalim, yapper x listener i guess. although the object of his interest was initially because of bab, he might as well be another overgrown cat of yours cause he seems to love touch.

its concerning cause bab themselves felt challenged for your affection and when they spotted kalim’s head nestled on your lap they ‘accidentally’ kick him off.

in a way you seemed untouchable, pet included. you don’t seem to mind kalim much, people might even go as far as to say you enjoy his company. occasionally the vice of his dorm as well, the three of you have this sort of aura that screams ‘don’t approach’

said aura is in the form of a very big cat.

azul (ariel)

one time you admitted to having not much friends and three heads turned towards you. face twisted incredulously.

he doesn’t know why but you looked like you went through ten stages of grief (3 more cause the 7 definitely wasn’t enough.) when you took a glance at him, during the time you were looking around, you almost went past him, actually. but then doubled back immediately.

that’s concerning.

morally suspicious (devil in disguise) x angel

azul often asks your opinions out of habit, he himself isn’t even sure when it started but he considers you a factor in decisions. though he does prefer to keep you out certain… endeavors of his away entirely, no need to concern your innocence in his doings.

as such he often uses the twins to steer you away from trouble cause you seem to have no sense for it whatsoever, whenever there’s a fight brewing instead of walking off you stride closer. curious to whatever was happening.

and, you believe too easily apparently.

jade had held you by your shoulders and directed you away from the fight before the dispute reached you and inevitably dragged you in. “why are they fighting?”

he replied. “ah, well. they inhaled an unpleasant shroom and got affected.” your mortified face spoke you believed him. human culture! you thought.

your brain should be inspected honestly. floyd told him all about the pile of stuff you had “found” in your dorm, ranging from innocent collectibles to items that brought the question of whether or not they were really yours but you didn’t really claim otherwise, just that you found em’ so no more questioning.

azul doesn’t even wanna know why you started staring at mushrooms like they were a mortal enemy of all living forms. speaking of, the three of them didn’t even consider that you could be from the sea as well. seeing as, well. you have two feet, even if they have the same.

besides the fact you’re too clumsy for your own good you sure had no fear when you leapt overboard during a field trip cause a trinket that caught your eye fell and gave the entirety of the attendants a heart attack. floyd had patted him on the back and wishes him condolences.

also the shock of the century when you emerged, pretty tail and all. holding it the trinket up like you just found it the most fascinating thing on the globe.

since then underwater dates were a thing. which took a lot of prompting honestly, you didn’t know he was a merman either, curiously asking him what kind he was. in nature, you were persistent. like a need to sate your questions so he eventually relented.

even then, it took a while before he let you see the form. ← to his fluster you seemed engrossed in this form of his. swimming around him and asking questions.

now azul also have a small pile of items hidden in a box beneath his bed, all from you. which, upon being opened would be mistaken for unused items since its literally random stuff, and a concerning favor towards forks.

oh yeah. sometimes the tweels crash your date.

you could be in his office, going about your business. chilling on his couch and playing with one of your treasures and be completely unaware of the ominous discussion ongoing within the three about anemones? contracts?

“what are you guys talking about?”

“hairstyles for azul.”

“what—”

“ooh. i can brush his hair so you can style it!” pulls out a fork.

leona (belle)

“oh my sevens, WAIT—”

i was having a crisis trying to think of a dynamic so why not just, beauty x beast.

leona is less than pleased to admit he doesn’t like you much. or atleast, he used to. it was clear his feelings of you was reciprocated, based on the uninterested side glances you cast him. your type, well liked, pristine, proper, and informed reminds him all to well of what mold he was forced into. though it never really fit.

you on the other hand, just dislike him in general. more pointedly as to how he acted, too self righteous in your opinion. he sure spends a lot of time moping about how he could have been king when he’s acting like he’d be a terrible one. you’d say it to his face but even you aren’t too crude.

if you’re both looking at the bright side though, you’d probably prefer each other’s company above others. you’re quiet, perfect for napping around. he’s surprisingly true to himself, his morals aren’t too bad either.

as such, to your disdain he now naps in the library. which you had titled your own space, but he didn’t really just care.

relatively you’re a lot more cool headed than he is, you told him concerns about his laziness which he weaved through. after opening up with each other… well you know how it goes.

okay, fine. you no longer berate leona for napping at the public space, quickly shut up when he threatened you. “i’m gonna tell you the real reason ‘m here nowadays if you don’t calm down. and it ain’t the peace i’m here for.” he eyes you, and you shut up after that.

leona doesn’t know if he should be amused or annoyed at the fact that you stand up to whatever he says. ‘that’s rude,’ this. ‘are you out of your mind?’ that. at some point where he doesn’t wanna admit, leona had disliked seeing you upset (particularly towards him) that he started listening.

at others is a different story though. he will gladly watch you shut down someone else.

sometimes he makes weird remarks, like. “throw an egg at them, who knows might hatch into a chick and give them the company they’ve been lacking.” ← just bullies random people while you defend them. “what? don’t be stupid, eggs that are sold don’t hatch into chicks.”

you often lament in his arms, regretting ever coming near his sleeping frame cause next thing you know you’re subjected to prison, and you had accidentally dropped the book you were reading so even if you try to reach for it he’s pulling you back.

will reach for it if you ask tho lol.

just one look from you has him suddenly behaved tbh.

bothers your productive time by crashing it with his opposite word of productive idk im to lazy to check. more often than not tramples over your things, but always looks dead to life when you end up scolding him heavily.

also kicks out the animals that gravitate towards you for some reason, got jealous of a bird nestled in your hair once cause apparently you paid too much attention to it.

apparently told ruggie to fetch books for you when you’re running out, at that point you might actually milk the nrc library with how fast you burn through them.

“you’re not even from here, what do—”

“actually. originally from times before, they—”

riddle (cinderella)

got lectured about history, eugh.

easy to fluster x enthusiastic and sweet

how are you so nice.

you’ve got most of the population of nrc enamored with your natural charm alone, though some do tend to mock you. unfortunately they aren’t wrong, you really do fit in more at a different school like rsa with your personality.

i mean you fit the bill, kind, pretty, talks to animals.

good for you though. cause riddle would prefer a behaved student than a troublesome one anyway so he would definitely dig you lmao.

speaking of. he definitely goes to you whenever the hedgehogs are lost in the maze, or the flamingos just don't wanna step out the farther spot from the pond, somehow they love you in whatever you do.

as in, you spoke to the hedgehogs with a lower tone. almost like a coo, and he almost tells you to stop because that's the universal worse tone to talk to hedgehogs until... it nuzzles into you?!

flabbergasted, he can only watch.

sevens... you're just so pleasant to be around he could die.

at some point it felt like you were the epitome of being kind. riddle understand that the virtue was just embedded into you, letting others berate you for whatever... he even thought you were too kind for a place like nrc where the complete opposite traits are admired.

you are, but only to those who deserve it. riddle had the pleasure to spot you nitpicking a crude student and they looked like they were gonna burst into tears.

so... you knew what to say almost always. when troubled, he'd learn that it's best to talk to you cause you'd know what to say to ease his worries, when you're treated wrongly? sevens.. you also know what to say.

but, in a putting whoever in their place way?

(idk man I'm just rambling at this point lmao idk how to write a cinderella reader.)

riddle has grown accustomed to random critters breaking in the door. well, he was used to animals in the first place. or atleast thought he was when he opened a door in the dorm and almost yelled at the sight of a group of mice looking like they were having conspiracies.

a few weeks after that he knocked on doors before opening them.

was also very disturbed when you announced they were your friends.

I don't know. I feel like he'd lowkey be the type to write your name in a heart on the back of his notebook and straighten his face like: 'what in the world am I doing' but not erasing it anyways.

over time, your little 'friends' got used to him, and vice versa. at the very least he isn't screaming at their sudden visits, be it flying through the window or just popping out of something they climbed on.

who's screaming though are his dorm members, and he's found humors in the encounters.

"ah, thank you, myrcella." he nods gingerly, toward the very tiny white mice who seems to twirl around, touched by the thanks. the little thing was nice enough to carry the pen he'd been using to scribble down the main definitions he'd been copying from the textbook.

in the middle of reaching for a glass of water the door opens, riddle watches one of his residents striding in rambling. probably about to be exposed to the sight of a group of mice sleeping on top of each other atop a cushion he'd personally placed for them.

and maybe the birds. whom seemed comfortable by his small collection of plants.

"dorm leader, octavinelle stude—GAHHHH—"

[inbabylontheywept]

Memories of Grandpa Hank

I'm eating a bag of mormon gorp that tastes like gasoline while watching the rain run down the mountain. The taste doesn't even bother me anymore - all homemade gorp tastes like this. It's just a natural consequence of everyone keeping their prepper shit in their garages. 

My dad's out in the clearing, wandering around with his GPS. He's got some pieces of wire out on top of it to try and make the effective antennae bigger, but it just makes it look like he's dowsing. Another mormon tradition. I ask him if he's close to find water yet, and he looks up at me, little rivers flowing off him, and says yeah - he can feel it. 

I'm sure he can. I settle under my tree and watch the droplets roll down the needles. Awaiting the final judgement of Judge GPS. 

A few minutes later, it provides: 

Turns out my dad forgot to record the location of the car this morning. The GPS remembers where we parked yesterday, but by luck my dad knows how to get from there to our car. Downside is that it's a nine mile walk just to get to yesterday's position, then another five miles to backtrack. That's fourteen miles total. 

I'm only thirteen. 

Think you can make it? my dad asks. And it's a kindness that he's worried, but it's not like there's an alternative. What else would I do, sit down in the murk and cross my fingers he finds me again? Ask him to carry me 14 miles? 

I'll be pretty jelly legged, I say. But yeah. I'll make it. 

Attaboy, he says. He fishes a bag of poptarts out and offers me one as - I think - a peace offering. A, sorry you're gonna have to walk 14 miles in the rain because I goofed kind of gift. 

I take a bite and, despite being individually wrapped, it still manages to taste like diesel fumes. We start hiking our incredibly long distance in terrible weather for foolish reasons, and I joke to my dad that the only way to make this day any more mormon would be by pushing handcarts. 

He laughs. Neither of us laugh again until 11 pm, when we stumble like drunkards into camp. My grandpa has stayed up late to make sure we weren’t lost, but he only stays up long enough to see us arrive. We try to eat a dinner of sweet potato stew, but after falling asleep in the middle twice, we agree to just go to bed. 

I sleep in well past nine and wake up to nobody in camp but my grandpa. My dad left with my sister to keep hunting around 5 am. I know that everyone assumes that their dad is invincible when they're 13, but I'm 28 now and part of me still thinks he's gonna live forever. That God made exactly one perpetual motion machine, and it raised me in the desert. 

---

Around noon my grandpa suggests hunting again. If it was my dad, I'd probably tune him out, but I like my grandpa's style of hunting. My dad hikes and hikes and hikes until the elk get tired and just let him shoot them. My grandpa finds the sleepiest, sunniest, coziest field and takes a nap there, figuring if the elk have any decent taste they'll come there at some point.

Man's got a knack for knowing what elk like - he's right more often than not. I think he might've been an elk in a previous life. 

I go with him, and much as I hate to admit it, the hike is good for me. I start off walking like a pirate on two peg legs, so stiff I might as well not have knees, but by the end of the mile and a half walk I'm almost normal. We make it to the edge of the clearing, and my grandpa finds a patch of grass taller and softer than the beds inside the trailer, and he curls up to sleep there. I look across the grass and I watch the comings and goings of critters through the field. Sometimes I use the scope to get a magnified view, but I never do so with my hand on the trigger. The thought of accidentally looking a person through that glass is something that sends a chill up my spine. 

Some deer wander through the glen, but it'd take a fool to mistake one of them for an elk. A few hours later, my grandpa wakes up and asks if I want to wander around a little. It's a lovely day. Rain comes in bursts in Arizona, and the day after is almost always clear as can be. And for a short while, all the desert browns turn green and lush. Hard mosses turn squishy and cacti swell up like fresh baked muffins and for a while you can get why people settled in these god forsaken wastes. 

So I go with him, and we walk on, me with my gun, him just taking in the forest. He looks so peaceful that I get a little jealous, but it's not until my grandpa stops and looks at me that I even notice it myself. Takes a mirror, sometimes, to know yourself.

Being near my grandpa is always a strange thing for me. He's quiet, and he doesn't talk much, and I don't ever get the feeling that he's particularly emotionally intelligent - but it's like he's interacting with a reality more raw and real than mine. Like I'm watching symbols on a screen and he's counting atoms. And sometimes, just being near him gives me access to that raw matter. Just something about how he is breaks the illusions of the world.

He looks at the gun like a foreign object, like he doesn't recognize it, then he looks at me. He speaks and he doesn't mince words. 

What would you do if an elk came across the path and you shot it right now? he asks. 

Well, I'd start cleaning it, I say, and he waves the words away like cobwebs in his face. 

But would you celebrate? he presses.

And I look at him, and I don't actually see any judgement staring back. He knows the answer, and he's at peace with it. He’s asking so I can see it too. He’s being a mirror so I can see my own face.

I think I might actually cry, I admit. And he nods along in agreement before reaching forward to take the gun off my shoulder. 

Lets just walk today, he says. No chance of killing anything. No worrying about that. 

Right, I say. 

He pops the chamber open and tosses me back my bullet. I catch it, and the relief I feel is palpable. 

Can I change my mind? I ask, and he shrugs.

Whenever you want. Hunt or don’t. It’s not the hunting that I’m worried about. It’s seeing you ignore your conscience.

And for a moment, I'm there in the real world with him, and my gloves are off, and reality is a metal cube in my hand: Sharp and cold and heavy.

Or maybe that’s just the bullet.

---

We make it back to camp a bit later than my dad. We get there and he’s waiting for us. If he's tired, he doesn't show it. 

How'd it go? he asks. My grandpa looks at me, and I don't know how to respond. I don't know how to explain it, and I am scared. 

Great, he replies. It's a shame Babs only has a doe tag. We saw a five-point out there. Close enough to hit with a football. 

No, my dad says. If his grin was a half inch wider, both ends of his mouth would meet in the back of his head and everything above his tongue would slide off.

Tell him Babs, grandpa says. And, not for the first time, and especially not the last, I try my hand at spinning a yarn. 

It's pretty good. But at 13, I still have a lot to learn.

[leashybebes]

♡: Accidentally falling asleep together for BuckTommy?

it's late, i know. but on the plus (?) side, it got away from me a bit so have 1k plus of mostly just...them being cute.

"I wanted to take you before," Buck says, casual, because they're trying to get better at talking about before, at not just pretending that Tommy kissed him and they got together and everything was fine. "But the viewing conditions were bad all last year."

"Yeah? There a reason for that, or just bad luck?"

It means keep talking, and Buck smiles. Tommy really - he makes Buck feel smart. Makes him feel interesting.

"Just luck, I think," Buck says, and frowns. "I don't know if there's some kinda…pattern to it, maybe? I bet Karen could build an algorithm. Did anyone at Harbor lose their minds over that treasure hunt a few years back or were you guys all too busy being cool?"

"I may have been roped into planning a search grid or two," Tommy says with a grin. "Are we taking food with us?"

"Just snacks," Buck says. "I figured we'd swing by a 24 hour diner on our way home."

"Burgers and milkshakes at 3a.m. honestly sounds perfect," Tommy says. He doesn't take his eyes off the road, but he reaches out for Buck, brings his hand up to kiss his knuckles. "We talking gas station snacks or Trader Joe's?"

"I could do some serious damage to an overpriced salad right now."

"Gotcha."

Once they're loaded up with Buck's overpriced salad and Tommy's over seasoned chips they're able to make the drive out towards Malibu a fairly leisurely one. Once they get to the beach, Buck decides it was worth the tradeoff to head out of the city rather than to one of the ticketed events - it's going to be cold, but it's fairly quiet, just a few clusters of other people dotted around. 

Tommy spreads their blanket on the sand and Buck settles against him. The sound of the waves is a lovely background soundscape and Buck lets it wipe the long, long week away for a few moments.

"Hey," he says when Tommy hands him his salad. "Did you know this is one of my favorite beaches?"

"I don't think I did," Tommy says. "How come?"

"The tide pools," Buck says eagerly. "I brought Jee a few times and we saw so many good critters."

"Yeah? We'll have to come back in daylight and you can show me…all the gross water bugs your heart desires."

Buck snorts with laughter and presses his face into Tommy's shoulder. "You are under no obligation to look at fascinating water bugs with me, you big baby."

"Okay, but I would," Tommy says.

"I know you would. It's fine. I'll just carry on bringing the tiny children who won't have to feign interest through gritted teeth."

"I will happily wait in the car," Tommy says, kissing the top of Buck's head. "Fetch ice creams. Make interested sounds from a safe distance."

"Big baby," Buck says again, fonder than he can possibly express.

"Alright, alright. C'mon, tell me about this meteor shower."

"Okay," Buck says, and pulls Tommy down so they're side by side on the blanket. "We're looking…here," he says, tracing a circle in the sky above them. 

"Gotcha," Tommy says, and inches a little closer, looking up along the line of Buck's arm.

"Did - " Buck breaks off to yawn. "DId you know the Geminids are really unusual?"

"How so?"

"So they come from an asteroid, not a comet. There's only one other shower like that, I think, and it's not as regular."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm. It's called 3200 Phaethon, and it gets closer to the sun than any other named asteroid."

"Huh."

"Did you know it's a PHA - potentially hazardous asteroid?"

"I did not know that."

Buck nods and turns his head to look at Tommy, his profile as eye catching as ever, even when it's in darkness.

"Just because of its size though. It actually has a really predictable orbit, so we're not in danger, or anything."

"I'll tell Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to stand down."

"Huh?"

"Movie," Tommy says. "We'll watch it sometime. I'm sure the science would annoy you, but both Affleck and Liv Tyler are at their prettiest."

Buck laughs and turns onto his side to get closer to Tommy, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Careful," Tommy says. "Don't wanna miss the show." But he cranes his neck to kiss Buck anyway.

"We're not gonna miss it," Buck promises, stealing another kiss. "It was named after the son of the Greek sun god," he says between kisses. "The asteroid."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. Because it - it gets so close."

"The power of Wikipedia right at my fingertips," Tommy says, dancing his fingers up and down the back of Buck's neck for emphasis.

Buck laughs and shivers, shoves his hand inside Tommy's hoodie for warmth and revenge. Tommy half-swallows a yelp and kisses him again. Buck settles closer, craning his neck a little so he can keep an eye on the sky. It is cold, but he's so comfortable, always so comfortable when they settle together like this. 

"The Greek sun god is called Helios, by the way," Tommy says.

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hm."

"How'd you know that?"

"Oh, I've got useless facts of my own, Buckley. Bit of a myths and legends phase as a kid. For a minute, anyway. Needless to say, the old man didn't approve."

"Asshole," Buck mumbles.

"Ancient Greeks were - " Tommy breaks off to yawn. "Were kinda fruity, you know?"

"I'll fight him."

"My hero," Tommy says. "My Heracles."

"Like the movie?"

Buck can feel Tommy's surprise.

"That's the Roman version, but yeah."

"Watched it w' Jee," he says.

"Evan. Don't fall asleep."

"'m not. Tell me - tell me about Hercules. Heracles. Keep me awake."

"Okay," Tommy says softly. "He was…hm. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. I can't remember her name. Al-something, I think. He was strong, and brave, and clever…"

Buck can feel his eyes closing, can feel Tommy drifting too, but it's okay. A little power nap and they'll still have plenty of time before the moon rises.

"Baby," he hears, Tommy's voice rough with sleep, and he feels a gentle nudge. "Baby, wake up."

"Wha - " the moon is bright, and Buck is abruptly aware that every part of him that isn't touching Tommy is freezing cold. "Shit, we missed it? Oh my god. I can't believe we fell asleep!"

"I know," Tommy says. "I'm sorry. Long week, huh?"

"Yeah. Goddamnit. We could try again tomorrow? Tonight was the peak though, and I think there's gonna be cloud cover tomorrow. Shit."

"Hey, it's okay."

"No, but I really wanted to do this with you."

Tommy squeezes his hand and Buck manages not to shiver at the cold touch of his fingers. Shit, they really have to get out of here.

"There's always next year," Tommy says, and the casual way he says it makes Buck's disappointment fizzle and die in his stomach, replaced by that swooping feeling of love and want and ever so slightly disbelieving gratitude at how far they've come.

"Yeah," Buck agrees. "There's always next year."

[lassieposting]

Actually. Y'all know those animal videos that are like My Dog Was Raised By Cats And Now He Purrs or This Duck Thinks He's A Dog or Mama Cat Raised Puppy Alongside Kittens?

That is. Probably what happens to Owlbear Cub.

Because he's not really being raised as an owlbear. He was, for a bit, but he didn't have a mom for very long. His primary role model now is Scratch, a goodboye. Owlbear Cub is, basically, being raised as a weird dog.

So it seems natural that he'd start copying Scratch's behaviours, to bond with his new family. And those would become habits, settled in beside his instinctive owlbear behaviours.

Scratch likes to play fetch? One day, it's Owlbear Cub who returns the ball to Shadowheart.

Scratch gets up to go lay his head on Astarion's chest when he starts to twitch and sob in his not-sleep? Owlbear Cub will go with him, and curl up there too.

Scratch enjoys chewing on Wyll's socks? Owlbear Cub...doesn't like chewing in general, really, but he does learn that if he steals companions' things and runs around the camp with them, they will chase him, and he thinks that's great fun! Gale's trousers, discarded on the floor of his tent. Astarion's shirt, snatched off the drying line. Minsc's underpants, at one point, which is still better than trying to eat Boo.

(They still haven't managed to stop him hunting small critters and dropping the bodies in people's laps, though. They're not sure where he got that one from, but Tav is sure he keeps doing it because Lae'zel and Astarion keep praising him for it. Their justifications are, respectively, "The creature is a drain on our resources; it is good that it is proving useful as a pest repellent," and, "Ooh, yay, fast food.")

Anyway, yeah. Little dude thinks he's a dog send tweet

[tinylilacbun]

I just had a thought for your new series.

Everyone in the obx kinda knows how Luke is but noone says anything. Maybe JJ shows up to babysit and he had a bruise/black eye or cut basically an obvious injury and toddler readers parents recognise what it's from and invite him to spend a few nights in their guest room under the guise of babysitting because they know he won't accept help

Feel free to completely ignore this, I literally just woke up and had the thought so I thought I'd share- :3

-a very shy mutual lol 😅

Omg hi my sweet moot!! Hope you like this :3

You're sitting on the living room sofa, wriggling your feet as you watch Bluey on the tv while eating your snack, occasionally seeing your parents pass by.

They're getting ready for their date and instead of whining and crying for them to stay you're giddy with excitement and can't wait for JJ finally to arrive.

You gasp when you hear the doorbell ring, jumping off the couch to run towards the front door barely reaching the handle you open it quickly, squealing at the sight of JJ.

JJ chuckles, your adorable face distracting him from the throbbing pain from the lingering bruises and cuts on his face that you luckily haven't noticed yet as you hug his legs.

"Oh, JJ, honey good you're here. We're almost ready to go. She already had dinner but still needs her bath before going to sleep." Your mother tells him as she puts on her coat while your father puts on his shoes.

"No problem, we'll manage this, huh?" He grins down at you.

She turns to face him, her smile fading at the state the teenager is in. Obviously your parents know about his father and the probably bad environment JJ is living in, your mother's heart aching at the sight before him.

JJ has a forming bruise on his cheek and cuts on his eyebrow and his bottom lip, but still smiling down at the little princess that's clinging to his legs. Your parents share a look, already figuring what must have happened.

"Hey, buddy, um we really got a lot on our plate the next few days and wanted to ask if you would maybe sleep here in our guest room for the rest of the week? It would really take some pressure from our shoulders knowing our baby is taken care of." Your father asks him, grabbing the car keys from their designed bowl.

"Uh, yea...sure." He says, not noticing the true intent of the request but agrees nonetheless, he could never say no to spending time with you. "You heard that, cupcake? We're gonna have a sleepover."

"Yay! C'mon Jay! I gots to show you m'new critter family!" You squeak, pulling at his hand to drag him to your room.

As soon as you both disappear from their sight your mother sighs. "I'm worried about him."

Your father nods, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. "Me too. But we can't do much since he won't accept it. I'm glad he agreed to stay, tho. Now, come on, let's give him some time to relax here."

You're happily showing him your new calico critter set that you got after your dentist appointment. Introducing each critter to him, you both sitting on the fluffy carpet of your room.

"And dis S'Jay 'cause he reminds me of you!" You smile, handing him the tiny figure, looking up at his face for his reaction you furrow your brows in confusion.

Without thinking you reach up to touch his cheek and JJ winces, gently taking your wrist and pulling it away from his face. "Don't touch it please, um...it-"

"Hurts? You got boo-boos?" You ask curiously and he nods, a small smile on his face at your innocent question.

"Yeah, but it's fine." He says, watching how you rush out of your room.

He gets up from the ground and follows after you, seeing you just as you're about to enter the bathroom and as he's about to enter you rush back out and bump into his legs, JJ grabbing your shoulders to keep you steady with a chuckle. "Careful there. Watcha got there?"

You motion for him to come closer and he leans down, not expecting you to suddenly place a bandaid on his cheek, grabbing another one from the colorful package that you place over the cut on his eyebrow.

JJ's face softens at the action, picking you up when it seems you were done with nursing his wounds. "Thank you..."

You smile at him brightly, leaning closer to press a kiss on each bandaid. "Kisses make me feels better."

His heart almost explodes at your cute gesture, letting you tuck your face in his neck as you wrap your arms around it he could feel a single tear slip down his cheek, grateful for having someone who doesn't question him or tells him that he should get help and do something about his dad.

Taglist

For everything:

@my-river-lilly @pauntedblacknails @fanfictioniseverything @devilslilbabysblog @buckymydarlingangel @hallecarey1 @daybreakwinter @loveshineslikethesky @wandaslittlewhore @vase-of-lilies @white-wolf1940 @simpingbutch @mischiefsemimanaged @alina02 @teddybearsgrr @doozywoozy @angelbabydoll28 @glxwingrxse @lilymurphy03 @veryvaughnny @lokigirlszendaya @youngstarfishdinosaur @little--baby--bear @minideathgoddess @rach2602 @gh0stgurl @flourishandblotts-inc @lovelyy-moonlight @yoruse

@mythixmagic @iris-xoxo-juhu @mylettterstoyou @sunf1ower16

For JJ:

@chiaraanatra @chimindity @flora-eva

[dashflashy-arts]

ML x Smiling Critters Au

Students by day! Heroes by... any other time of the day. When people transform into weird creatures and terrorize the locals, it's up to Dogday and Catnap to save the day! And keep everyone alive, of course!... hopefully. Honestly, both Dennis and Theo are just trying to get through the day and attempt to maintain little normalcy that's left in their city

Could there be more to this weird phenomena than just random coincidences? Was this all planned? Will they ever find the rumored Ladybug Miraculous that is said to repair everything?

WELL Y'ALL IDK GUYS BC HONESTLY I ONLY DREW THIS FOR FUN AND AS STRESS RELIEF AND I'M FAR TOO BUSY AND TIRED TO EVEN TRY AND DRAW ANOTHER FANCOMIC JWDJDUDJFJDD

That's not to say I don't have ideas or a somewhat cohesive plot in mind for this little dumb au

Read them under the cut:

Idk if y'all even bothered to see the other post about this Au, but basically it's like a human AU where it's MOSTLY normal like. Playtime Co. didn't rly exist. Orphans were not expiramented. Maybe some grew up and became adults themselves etc. Ngl I haven't figured this part out properly, but basically a family had a hold of these miraculouses which made like, a secret orgs thst tests their abilities or something. Then stuff happens with like whistleblowing and an Agreste(tm) event. Tho to sum up my scattered thoughts on this part: they used to have all the miraculouses, but someone stole it away from them. Unfortunately for them, someone important got rly sick so they're rly desperately finding the others (LB and Cat Miraculous mostly) to cure them and yeah the current butterly user (Harley Sawyer at this point) is carrying his predecessor's wishes, but w/ an ulterior motive of course. Why is he a robot here? Mmm ngl I don't rly have any other reason for it. Just wanted to draw a robot w/ some butterfly motifs

Okay, for the story, the "toys" are just normal people, but they become their "toy" selves upon akumatization. Idk whether to base it more on the toy lore or in-game lore but I might just have to merge them both (but leaning more on toy-lore, hopefully)

There will be like, um, a mix of aging-up here, like the Smiling Critters and Nightmare Critters here are teenagers, but some characters like the human vers. of Mommy long legs is an adult. I am trying to understand the game lore but I won't be very accurate bc again, I' not rly active with it so sorry die-hard fans 🤷‍♀️

Enough of that, here are some thoughts of the main protags:

Dennis Dantes is the likable cheery athlete in school. You could say he's popular, but he doesn't rly hang out with the popular kids for too long. He'd rather spend time with the friends he made since he was young. Dennis is just honest and simple like that. He is a natural leader, but he only lets that shine through as Dogday.

Theodore Grambell is the opposite. He's a loner, troublemaker, and sleepy student that professors dislike to have in class. And yet, he is beloved by his friends, Dennis mostly! While he keeps quiet as himself, he's nearly dead silent as Catnap. He lets Dogday take the lead with saving the day, but at the end of the day, it's his cataclysm that really matters in an akuma crisis. Unlike Dennis, he knows a lot more about the miraculous stuff, thanks to some... shady figure

When the first meeting, Catnap and Dogday weren't sure of each other. It took some time and akuma-fighting for Dogday to actually understand Catnap, and for Catnap to tolerate Dogday's overbearing "as heroes, we have to blah blah blah" mindset. This is ironic, btw, because as civilians, they are both the bestest of friends. Closest. Dennis always pounces at Theo every time he sees him, then talks his ear off, and Theo wouldn't mind, and would just be happy to be with him

Story starts with Dennis getting his miraculous via finding it in his locker. Theo got his few weeks prior (thanks to shady figure). Since this is an alt universe, events went differently, so kwamis like Barkk behave a little differently from canon. Barkk here is a lot more strict with rules and has to asert common sense to Dennis when he gets too carried away by his heart. That said, Dennis and Barkk are good with each other. As for Plagg, he and Theo are awkward AF. I imagine that Theo's not much of a conversationalist in general, so you can guess who does most of the talking. Plagg's also desperately trying to convince Theo that MAYBE idk that the shady guy is??? Not to be trusted?? It falls on deaf ears, unfortunately

There ARE guardians of the miraculouses here lol they just don't have the Ladybug miraculous bc the former user crashed out and dipped. They are searching for it and later on, after Dennis meets them, he helps them search for it

Do their friends get a miraculous? Do the nightmare critters get a miraculous too (then cause mayhem?) Maybe, maybe not. Heehehehehee ( =＾ω＾)

OH also this AU is set in 2005 bc um to match the game setting idk [insert South Arcade - 2005]

[kkoga]

By the shore megan skiendiel x fem!reader

(A/N Js so u guys know... this is like js a lil drabble and it sucks alot so)

Warning ! Hurt no comfort, major character death, homophobia not proofread

Disclaimer ! Everything written here is pure fiction. Every person is not an accurate portayal of themselves.

Now playing ! Sparks by Coldplay

WC — 985

No synopsis! Because it's js a drabble :)

You look away—trying to escape the stare your parents gave you—unable to face them. Tears threatened to fall, as they always did.

Your mother dismisses you with a tone you've been having to deal with since they found out what you liked— since they found out who you truly were.

“Just go to your room.”

You couldn't argue, couldn't fight against them. After all, they were your parents. They raised you, nurtured you, helped you become the person you are today.

As you went up the stairs, you couldn't process how much they changed after the incident, how their view of you twisted so much you don't even know who they're talking about.

Were you not their beautiful young daughter? The one they promised to always protect no matter what?

You grabbed your hoodie from your desk, stealing a glance at the photo of you and Megan on it, before locking your door. You gently opened the window, and looked down at the two story jump.

You slowly lowered your body—before sticking a rough landing—almost injuring yourself. But you couldn't care less.

You grabbed your old bike hidden under some junk in your garage.

You ran a bit to cover some distance first, making sure not to alert anyone that you snuck out.

You sigh, mounting your bike.

As you pedal through the neighbourhood, you felt a pang in your heart. You knew no matter how much you tried to forget, you would never be able to erase the disgust their gaze held.

You continue to bike around, feeling numb. Like something was holding you back. You wanted to let yourself go— to cry. But no matter how much you tried, you just couldn't.

You look around your surroundings. You were a couple kilometers away from home now. You were at a beach, a spot you and your family used to go to every Sunday.

You hopped off your bike, setting it down near a bench, hoping no one would try to steal it. You couldn't handle another problem— not now.

You slowly make your way to the coast, stopping just a few feet away from the water. You take a deep breath before settling down, taking a seat on the beautiful white sand.

You hug your knees, relaxing into the mood the place gave you.

You sat in silence for the next few minutes, hearing nothing but the crashing of the waves and the whispers of the critters.

Until you heard a voice, one you couldn't believe you were hearing. A voice you knew you'd never forget.

“Hey, why so sad?” You felt your breath hitch, and you quickly lift your head to look around.

And to your left, there she was. The one person you thought you'd never see again.

“M…megan?”

“Yeah?” The girl turned to look at you, a small but sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

You stared at her for a minute. You felt your eyes sting, and your vision blur. You hadn't blinked since you saw her— you couldn't.

You believed that if you did, she would disappear.

“Yn? Why are you just staring at me… C’mon! Say something won't you?” Megan says, giggling between her words, her hand on your shoulder.

Your gaze shifted to her hand, before looking back at her. You try to hold yourself back, you knew how much she hated seeing you cry. But you choked— choked on the emotion you've been holding in all this time.

You broke.

“Hey, don't cry. You know I hate to see you cry.” Megan says as she brushes her finger against your cheek.

You felt a chill in your spine at the contact, and immediately brought your hand to meet hers. You gripped as tightly as you could, physically unable to let go.

“I…. I miss you.” Megan's face softened at your tone, a soft “I miss you too.” sent right back at you.

You observed Megan. Her chest rose and fell, as if she were breathing. Her hair still as flowy as ever. Her brown eyes still as full of life as you remember. It was as if nothing about her had changed. She was just as beautiful as the day you met her.

“I don't want you to go.” Megan, unable to face you, shifts her gaze to the ocean.

“You know that's not how this works.”

“Please look at me. Please don't leave me.” You whisper, desperation tainting your voice.

Megan turns to you, just as you wished.

“I can't leave if I'm already gone, my love.”

You sob, your breath constantly cut short.

“I can't— I can't do this without you. Please. Stay with me.”

Megan leans forward, placing a bittersweet kiss on your forehead.

“I love you. I know you'll make it. You will for me, yeah?” You slightly raise your head to meet her gaze, eyes still in pain from the lack of blinking.

So you blinked. And just like that, she was gone.

The woman you promised to devote yourself to, the one person who knew you inside and out, the woman you promised to marry, was gone.

You closed your eyes,

“Just as beautiful as I remember.”

You couldn't deny your words. She was indeed just as beautiful as the day you met her. She was as beautiful as the day you confessed to each other. As beautiful as when they closed her casket.

You knew you'd never see her again— that she'd be nothing more than a memory.

But that didn't matter to you. She was alive. Alive and thriving in your memory, always and forever.

You'd never forget the day she first said she loved you. The day she said yes.

And most importantly, the day she first said hello.

[egginfroggin]

*yeets this and runs*

My hand regrets my decision to try for more realistic wings, frankly

Transcriptions:

Mabel Pines - Steller's Jay

Dipper Pines - Blue Jay

fledglings

can't quite fly yet

wing's aren't adult-sized yet

Dipper often forgets to preen

Mabel likes to put glitter in her wings (and Dipper's, when possible)

Dipper collects his primaries to make quill pens

Mabel collects their feathers for crafting

Yeah so I'm just gonna drop this here and uhhhhh run, thanks for checking this, and I hope you have a good day

(program: krita; time taken: about 1 hr 45 minutes)

[melbatron5000]

Two Crowleys

A while ago, the wonderful mind of @noneorother posted this meta about the puppets in the magic shop.

The observation that there appear to be two Crowleys in the shot of the puppet arrangement had me absolutely scratching my head and thinking they must be mistaken somehow.

(pic from @noneorother)

But then I got my hands on some of the Amazon X-ray extras, and discovered these little gems from the album covers in Maggie's record shop:

Now, going back to our color-coding for a moment, we may not know what all the colors in Good Omens mean, and we may not have all the colors down. But we do know a few, and we know that color-coding in Good Omens does exist, and that it matters.

Auburn and vavoom yellow are Crowley's colors. They are the colors of his hair and eyes. Black and scarlet red are the colors he wears. So those four colors are Crowley-coded colors. Okay.

Thus, these two record albums from Maggie's shop are Crowley-colored. Now, notice something important? Well, two things. The first -- Raga Koboj has TWO little sharp-clawed critters peering out at us from behind blinds. I daresay they are meant to be little cartoon demons, yes? And CT Bazz: Dank Balaclava features a face in a red ski mask. People usually wear ski masks if A. it's cold as tits outside, or B. if they're trying to hide their identity. So both albums feature Crowley colors AND images of hiding -- plus one features an image of twinsies.

The other important thing takes us back to color-coding. What other color do we see here besides our well-known Crowley colors? On Raga Koboj, the auburn and vavoom yellow blend into each other -- creating orange between them. And Dank Balaclava features a cigarette being lit -- with a little flair of orange fire.

(Edit to add: The name of that first album is Raga Koboj, which is a style of Indian music. A very famous tale in India is of the Warrior Goddess Kahli fighting demons who kept replicating themselves. Every time a drop of blood would hit the ground, a new demon would spring up. She went on a rampage trying to destroy them all, and her husband had to throw himself in her path to stop her. Hmm . . .)

This leads me to believe two things: Yes, TWO Crowleys. One Crowley in hiding, the other a twin. And that orange is Crowley's secret color.

Where else do we see orange?

Yep, the pillars in Aziraphale's shop. Which we also know is painted Crowley Auburn on the outside and Vavoom Yellow on the inside. With accents of this nice saffron orange on the pillars.

Want more proof? Okay.

Several people have noted that Aziraphale and Crowley keep to each other's right and left, respectively. Aziraphale on the right, Crowley on the left. In season 1, whenever they are on the opposite sides of each other, something's up. Not wrong, necessarily, but not in proper order. As in the image-swap/body-swap. Several people have also noted that Crowley is on Aziraphale's right far more frequently in season 2. And look here:

Aziraphale looks instinctively to his left when Crowley approaches -- only this Crowley, the twin, is not approaching on Aziraphale's left. This happens in more than one scene.

And when Aziraphale introduces Crowley to Nina in the coffee shop in episode one, he says, "This is, um, Crowley." As if he's quickly deciding how to name this individual who looks like his demon but approached on his right. Aziraphale "ums" and hesitates a lot this season, but he's also lying a lot. Hesitation and "um" is one of his tells.

I believe Aziraphale knows this isn't Crowley 1.0. But he acts and talks to this Crowley as if it's Crowley 1.0, so I don't think it's an imposter or someone pretending to be Crowley who isn't. I think Crowley's split himself in two. Am I sure about that? No. But it's where I'm leaning at this moment.

But Crowley 1.0 isn't missing entirely. Look here:

Aziraphale is looking over his left shoulder for his demon, and Crowley's right there, where he should be.

So yeah, TWO Crowleys.

Now where the heck is Crowley while his twin is out walking around on Aziraphale's right side? I really don't know what he might be up to, but I think he's in contact. Reachable, at least.

Let's look at this one again. Who's this?

No, not the guy in the foreground. The guy in the back. No, not the dude wearing tartan, the other guy. The guy in front of the ORANGE pillar, the guy on Crowley-twin's LEFT shoulder.

Is that Crowley 1.0? Or at least, a way for Crowley to be in touch while he's off doing whatever the heck he's doing? I think it is.

Would you like some more proof?

Okay. How about another record album from Maggie's shop?

Back to color-coding again. That baby-blue/red combo seems to indicate Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship together. The baby-blue is the color of Aziraphale's shirt, while the red is one that Crowley wears, mostly around his neck, although it also appears elsewhere in his costuming.

Au Revoir, Fingers! Crowley's just a head now. But a head has ears and eyes, so Aziraphale can communicate with it. As I suspect he tries to here, before Jim interrupts:

But wait. Back to Au Revoir Fingers for a moment. Red Eye Smile?

And red eyes? Fuck me.

A very few people have pointed out that there are lots of dual red taillights in multiple shots, frequently framed rather carefully. I had dismissed it, as I usually do when something turns out to be freaking important.

Someone's watching. I think it might be Crowley 1.0.

Then there's that bit where he's driving back to Whickber street, after coming back from Hell, and he first zooms around a bus with red taillights and says, "There's only room for one of us in this lane and it's not you," then he changes a pair of red stop lights to green and says "Don't you even think about it. There, that's better." Is he arguing with himself?? Telling the Other Crowley that it's his turn right now, not his? Of course I can't find a GIF or picture of that right now, but you know what I mean, right? Neil had to cut a bunch of material out of the finished show to fit Amazon's time limit requirements. That scene would seem to be an easy cut to make -- unless the scene matters to the overall plot too much to cut.

I also suspect that Crowley might be talking to himself in the book shop at the end of season 2. You know, when he turns Aziraphale's chair around to face the right way, but when Maggie and Nina come in it's facing the center of the room again? I suspect Crowley 1.0 and 2.0 had a chat. I do not know about what. Just sharing information?

I also wonder if Crowley 2.0 might have his own POV scenes -- thus confusing the already complicated POV situation even more. The white head statue sure gets several shots where it's in center frame, as if it is the POV character in that scene.

That's what I got, my fellow brain rotters. There's my evidence.

In conclusion: Two Crowleys. Yeah, I think so. Now, for the big question:

WHY???

What is Crowley doing that there needs to be two of him? And is it just twinsies, or is that someone else pretending to be Crowley and I'm wrong? Aziraphale definitely seems to know that's NOT his original Crowley, but tells the demon important information without hesitation, so I'm still suspecting Crowley twinned himself. But what if I'm wrong? Who is it then? And why are they pretending to be Crowley? And why does Aziraphale seem to know it's not Crowley, but still talk to him like it is?

I have no answers.

Thanks for crackpotting and going nuts with me, yet again. I hope this keeps you up at night like it's done me.

[shankss-magnificent-ass]

Imagine Shanks finding out you're a painter

You: *humming along to some music as you apply a fresh coat of paint to the wall of the galley*

Benn and Lucky Roux: *walk in*

Benn: Hey Kid.

You: Hey

Lucky Roux: Did you make sure to use the mold resistant paint?

You: Yes Roux.

Benn: And you applied the sealant before the paint?

You: *nods your head* And the primer, I got this man, thanks for checking in on me.

Benn: Alright then, I'm just gonna open this here winder to get some fresh air in here, so you don't get high off the paint fumes.

You: aww, but that's the best part.

Lucky Roux: *snorts* Let me know when you're done, so I can start dinner. Also, when you are done, you might want to put up a barrier, so none of the others accidentally lean on it.

You: I enjoy seeing them covered in paint. So I think they're gonna be in for a surprise, or at least the boss will be. Because I bet you a thousand berry that he's definitely gonna lean in the paint.

Lucky Roux: I'll take that bet.

Benn: I ain't, because he'll definitely gonna do it.

The next morning

Shanks: *Still annoyed that he got paint in his hair the night before* is this shit finally dry?

Benn: yeah, the kid didn't paint in straight lines though.

Shanks: what! But they're usually so meticulous about doing tasks perfectly.

Benn: it was on purpose too, take a close look.

Shanks: *leans in and glides his fingers across a floral design in the brush strokes* do you think they like painting?

Benn: I believe so, that, or they inhaled too much paint fumes and decided to have fun with it.

Shanks: both are possible... Didn't they repaint the hallway, and bathrooms?

Benn: yeah? They painted patterns there too.

Weeks later

Shanks: Hey (y/n) I got you something! *Presents you with a colorful variety of house paints, and a bunch of supplies*

You: ... Wow, that's a lot of paint, are you wanting me to repaint every room on the ship?

Shanks: no silly, for you to have fun with. We noticed the patterns you painted in the galley and thought you might like more colors.

You: but where would I paint?

Shanks: where ever you'd like.

You: *Kisses him on the cheek, scoops up the supplies, and runs to your room*, Thank you!

Two days later in the galley

You: I finished my room is it okay if I paint this wall now?

Shanks: Go for it.

Benn: *watches you run off* they painted their whole room you know.

Shanks: I saw, I was impressed they managed to paint such steady line work with the ship moving so much.

Benn: I think the little maze design the pained on their door frame was my favorite. Do you think they take requests?

Shanks: I dunno.

You: *pushes the box of supplies onto one of the tables*

Benn: is it okay if I asked you to paint something?

You: sure!

Yassop: Wait, you take requests! I want the pillar in my room painted.

The crew: *crowd around you listing off the things they want painted*

Shanks: Guys, let em breathe for fuck's sake! Make a list so they can start painting.

Lucky Roux: I ain't writing down my request because it's simple, don't paint any more realistic bug on the damn walls. I nearly shit myself when I saw the cockroach you painted in the bathroom, that was not a fun surprise at three in the morning.

You: only termite holes, got it.

Lucky Roux: (y/n) no! No termite holes.

You: fine fine, although the fact that the paint on that cockroach didn't even get to dry before one of y'all smacked it, is hilarious.

Shanks: no more realistic bugs, dear, in fact avoid painting realistic critters all together please.

You: ugh fine.

Shanks: I have a project I'd like you to paint, but I'll need to get you a canvas for it. *Winks at you and wiggles his eyebrows*

Benn: Gross.... if he's getting a nude I want one too.

Shanks: You want my nudes too?

Benn: I want a nude of myself, ding-dong.

List of Up-and-coming works

Support me on Kofi and Patreon

[kathegoose]

the compane i think

lineup of every (at least somewhat) biological entity (aside from earth leviathan) in lethal company!!!

again, non-VHS version under cut with some wacko headcanons and allat!

WOOHOO!!!!!!! so here are my extra headcanons and other minor changes because i am allowed to ramble about my art if i want to👍👍 (Those without any HC dumps here are pretty much as they are already, nothing to talk about them!)

Tiny bugs: the locust, bee and wasp are made to faintly resemble their real life counterparts aside from the reused fly model as in the game.

Manticoil: i will get either praised or executed for this but i made the extra wings.... leg wings. like a microraptor. but it does come with a reason, yes! it is practically impossible to evolve a new pair of limbs, it's either remove or change existing parts when it comes to evolution, and the manticoils are just evolved corvids in canon!

Hoarding bug: made to resemble hymenoptera more, as they are - again - canonically in this order of real life animal :]

Spore lizard: back scutes and more toes added to, you guessed it; resemble their earth relatives (in this case alligators) more.

Bunker spider: spider pitter patter feet :D

Thumper: more earth-relative (chondrichthyes) resemblance, especially the mouth is more shark-like.

Baboon hawk: earth thing again and also made the 'wings' the brightest, since i believe they pose no other purpose than social display.

Bracken: i've been WAITING to talk about my brackens' symmetrical, two-thumbed hands. PERFECT (i think?) for grabbing a victim's head to do a little snappin'. also the claws are just on the hands to really make sure they have a firm grip, and not on the padded, almost mitten-like feet for silent sneaking! (even though they are usually quadrupedal)

Eyeless dog: okay fellas but... that's no actual mammal (as we know) i think. the in-game head shape is too ridiculous to have evolved from anything and the class saeptivus doesn't even exist! what i think is a re-evolving of mammals at play, say.. synapsida 2.0 perhaps. so i took creative liberties and made the dog a taaaad bit more fish-like with a line of sensory pits on their sides kinda like a fish's lateral line. suits the blind critter :]

Nutcracker: some little paint job changes and added some hinge doohickeys to accentuate the mechanical properties of the nutcracker itself that the meaty-eye-hermit-thing is operating.

Jester: i am simply here to say that i would like to bite a chunk off of the jester's meat gluppo.

Forest keeper: ok so there is the cool octopus-style beak yeah and i gave it tiiiiny little silly pinky-thumbs as they're probably canonically related to the brackens but MY GOD!!!!!!! I HATED COLOURING THAT THING!!! what colour is it even if I HAD TO FNAF 3 BLAST IT. that's how you know that i didn't like doing it sorry giant enjoyers i didn't enjoy colouring large jonathan (my fan name for them) :[

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Bulbie

Debut: Pikmin

Pikmin 4 has a doggone good time being as doggy of a game as it can! I'm sure you are well aware by now of the new Funny Weird Dogs!

And I love these weird dogs! They are wonderful. I'm glad they are so important and beloved. But I would like to focus on a different dog, the very first Pikmin Dog, who we have known about since the very first game! Olimar's dog, Bulbie!

With this, I have shown you both official images of Bulbie that exist. I wish there were more! Bulbie is a dog even weirder than Oatchi and Moss, a whole different kind of critter that also happens to get called a dog. Isn't that great? These people have the concept of "dog", and so far we've only seen it used to refer to these funny bipeds! Olimar has no problem referring to both Bulbie and Moss as dogs, so I am led to believe that "dog" is more of a category of creature to these people, rather than a distinct species. Like how "mole" is a category of creature to us!

We know a precious little bit of Bulbie Lore. He is lazy, and able to sleep anywhere. He loves carrots. He farts a lot. That's about all we know. Awesome! Sure sounds like a Dog to me! And of course, Olimar loves Bulbie very much. Just like he loves his whole family! He is a Family Guy, complete with Funny Dog!

You may already know, or you may have noticed yourself, but Bulbie looks quite like a Bulborb. This is because Olimar named these creatures after Bulbie, due to their resemblance! It is also for this reason that they are members of the Grub-Dog Family. You see? Bulborb is just like a dog! While it is sweet of Olimar to name the species after Bulbie, it must also make his encounters with them even more disturbing. Not only is this a (comparatively) massive, hostile beast that could easily eat him whole, but it looks like his beloved little friend! That's like a nightmare! Especially with other, scarier Bulborb variants! I am happy to know that his Bulborb experiences do not affect his love for Bulbie one bit.

As much as I love and talk about invertebrates and funny fish, dogs have always been among my favorite animals, and always will be! They're an extremely conventional animal to love, and for very good reason. They're wonderful! And on this post about Weird Dogs, I would like to talk about how dogs are, in fact, weird in their own ways.

They're always sniffing with their wet noses, which they keep wet to smell even better. They love to lick, and lick to show love. And that love is such an important thing! Dogs are creatures of love! It is our love for dogs that shaped them into what they are today! It is what drove us to shape this single subspecies into countless distinct caricatures of its noble ancestors. All still members of the very same species! The amount of dog customization that has occurred is ridiculous. Need a better way to hunt badgers? Make a Long Dog. Yeah sure! Why not!

Obviously, most dachshund owners today aren't interested in hunting badgers. They are interested in having a Pet. And a Pet Dog is such a truly incredible thing! There are not many animals that should be kept in a house around humans, but then there is Dog, literally born to be among humans. Born to be loved, and born to love! If you don't think that's one of the most wonderful things ever then get outta here!

This is an animal that runs around and spins in circles because it sees an ape that it loves so much. An animal that ends up learning snippets of human language, because those are the snippets that make it happy. An animal that gleefully exposes its vulnerable underside, because it trusts a member of a different species to rub it in just the right way that feels so nice.

Even with the general consensus on dogs being pretty dang favorable, I feel that it's easy to take a lot of their behavior and history for granted, to see them as the "default animal", when they SO aren't. The default animal would be a parasitoid wasp, silly!

If I was not able to convince you that dogs are weird, then just look up canine transmissible venereal tumor, obviously using your own discretion, because there will be graphic photos. If you ask me, this one medical anomaly easily makes dogs a contender for one of the weirdest animals EVER! Bet you didn't know dogs could be contagious!

I like funny dog Bulbie

[of-time-and-space-itself]

Okay, I might be absent for a little while(it depends, I'm not fully sure, but assume if you don't hear from me that i'm absent lol) -but I didn't wanna leave without at least posting SOMETHING.

so here's some doodles! a lot of these are just things that appeared on my page - which is mostly ahit so....yeah!

EEEEEE also - apologies for the tagging, I just wanna make sure I credit everyones critters!!

I drew @ashfluffys and @missmiseryguts critters. I've always wanted to scribble these critters, So taking time to actually just doodle whatever was like, the perfect opportunity.

also, I turned down the opacity on this drawing, and I have no clue why. I think my brain is a little fried - but like, what was I thinking merging the layers with lowered opacity.

shame on me lol

I've been seeing @kingpagie au pop up and I think it's really cute!! I don't know where the compulsion to draw them as this meme came from, but something told me to do it.

this little creature.....this little creature is so cute. I wanna squeeze this thing, they are just that cute. they're just that kinda creature, I wanna pick them up and run.

Blue is so adorable, I had to draw them. they belong to @milk-box-16

I wasn't gonna post this until it was done - but i'm hopping projects so much, and progress on this drawing is happening in such tiny increments - that I think it's just better to at least post a better screenshot of it.

it's gonna stay unfinished for a while longer - that's also my fault though for trying to color my doodle.

Oh- and last but not least-

Crazy how my art changes between programs lol

I was really debating dropping this tiny scribble or not - literally just because of how different it is from some of the other art posted on this blog.

but it's kinda ridiculous not to post it sooooo

random tiny OTASI doodle!

Haha, wish me luck guys - I'll see you all in a bit...

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Seeing a couple theorists on youtube saying that the Nightmare Critters don't make sense as an actual toylike that Playtime Co would make and it's like...

what

dude

Just the fact that mascot horror exists and is popular with kids should tell you that yes, a toy company could ABSOLUTELY make a toyline that's meant to seem spooky/edgy. There are a TON of "scary" stuff for kids, especially back in the 80's and 90's. Or even things that aren't scary or aren't toylines, but have merch and SOUND about as scary, in name, as "nightmare critters". Garbage Pail kids, Creepy Crawlers, Goosebumps, My Pet Monster, Toxic Crusaders...and yeah not all of these are necessarily (or at all) "scary" to most, but they're a bit edgy/gross/etc.

Also all we have is the name. Based on name alone, something like Monster High could easily be a grossout toyline aimed at boys of the 80's, even though yes I know it's a modern fashion doll line for girls. My point is having the term "Nightmare" in the name really doesn't tell us enough to say these are too scary for kids.

Hell, maybe the Nightmare Critters are the villains in the Smiling Critters universe. Villains do get merch too sometimes. Or it could be a Cabbage Patch Kids / Garbage Pail Kids situation. Personally they're the villains in the Smiling Critters universe. Even Disney makes marketable villains from time to time, or merch of the villiains or things like Descendants where the story is pretty heavily focused on villains and also has a ton of merch.

But either way. I'm not saying the Nightmare Critters ARE FOR SURE made by playtime co and not just a nickname for ruined Smiling Critters or something. I can't prove that. But the idea that a toy company wouldn't make a toy line called "Nightmare Critters", esp in the late 80's/early 90's...that argument just doesn't hold water.