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Blog of a One Piece person. 28 yrs old. Tend to vacillate between fandoms. OCs ahoy! Sideblog: @staysaneathome and @briassreblogs

[twstyuna]

@britishassistant Twisted Wonderland Masterlist (10/10/23)

Credit to @britishassistant and rightful anons and artists

Villainous Paranoiac AU | Supervillain AU Main | Supervillain AU AUs | AU Crossover Posts | Assorted AUs | General Credit List |

Twisted Wonderland Supervillain AU

Tag: supervillain au

Welcome to Twistopolis, where the supervillains of Night Raven Corporation run amok and the superheroes of Royal Sword Association regularly stop them. Between the two groups stands the Prefect, a mysterious third-party vigilante. Reporting on it all is Yuu Radcliffe, a seemingly-ordinary reporter, and their cameraman Yuuken Enma. Oh, and there's also the self-proclaimed-greatest-supervillain Grim.

There are AUs to this AU which you can access through a link above, but it is recommended that you go through the Main Posts first.

General Notes:

Dorm heads are supervillains, other students are minions

Yuu is the Prefect and nobody knows

All the students are now grown adults.

Some heroes and villains have civillian identities, some don't.

Names are meaningful (usually).

Nonhumans exist.

Magic exists.

Quite shippy, generally runs on comedy, has a very friendly au community and a cool lore has been built up.

Characters and Groups

TWST NEWS

Yuu Radcliffe, Yuuken Enma, Kuroki Yuuya, Hirasaka Yuuka, their bosses

Night Raven Corporation

On the villains of Twistopolis

Royal Sword Association

On the heroes of Twistopolis

Other Civilian Characters and Groups

Grim, the Ghosts, Mrs. Kingscholar, Cheka, Eliza, the Radcliffes, the Great Seven, the Disney Company

Other Hero and Villain Groups

heroes and villain unaffiliated with RSA and NRC

Relations

On the relations within and between groups.

Scenarios

Short-form incidents and events resulting from asks, submissions and posts that involve numerous characters or a shared theme. Specific incidents can be found in the respective character posts.

Fics

Longer pieces of written work

Appearances/Costumes

It isn't a world with superheroes and supervillains without some costumes! Here are the collected costume notes and artist interpretations of certain characters.

Artworks /Memes

Non-costume artworks that still fall under the main Supervillain AU, memes of the Supervillain AU and its AUs, and whatever didn't fit anywhere else

Compiler Note:

I tried to collect everything but I am only human. Please message me if a link leads somewhere it shouldn't or if I missed credit somewhere.

[britishassistant]

Updated version!! Thank you again Yuna!

[briassreblogs]

The Party’s Terrible Incredible Idea

The small group of eight travelers who caused such tumultuous feelings leave the monastery under the watchful eyes of the Crimson Faithful. They pass through Dawn’s Gate unmolested, if keenly observed.

The group boards a small, rickety sailboat, unties the vessel from the pier, and vanish into the darkness of the Midnight Hour on the swift waters of the Silverbell River, as if they were nothing more than apparitions.

It is only once the town is out of sight behind the river’s bend that the tiefling slumps over.

“Holy shit, that worked.”

The halfling, who had nearly been vibrating in place, lets out an excited whoop. “Hell yeah! I toldja it would work, I toldja, didn’t I tell ya? Harvest Mother be praised, didja see his face?!”

“Well done, Epel!” The threadborne cheers. “As you hypothesized, the emotional devastation inflicted by the news was enough to distract not only the Abbot but all of the faithful as well! And congratulations to you too, Ace! Your extraction of Weston Murdoch was skillful enough that no one noticed!”

“Heh, yeah, well, ‘s no big deal.” The half-elf shrugs, clearly basking in the praise. “How you doing, Reverend Murdoch? You didn’t get singed or anything?”

“No, no.” Weston Murdoch reassures the group. “You all arrived in the nick of time, truly. I’d managed to uncover what those, those fiends had done to poor Gareth, but I never imagined they’d capture me to subject me to the same fate.”

“Faithless, hypocritical curs, the lot of them.” The dragonborn snarls. “Take heart that Gareth Creed died a man of righteousness and joined the Brightsinger gloriously rather than forsake his honor for the craven half-life led by the ‘Crimson Faithful’.”

The adult human gives a shaky, disheartened smile. “That, that is true. He is with the Brightsinger now. But what am I to tell poor Melina…?”

The large elf folds his arms. “…I could help with last rites, even if we don’t have a body to bury. Give closure to him and her. If you’d be okay with that, Reverend?”

Weston Murdoch’s smile is much more touched this time, and he lays a hand on the young man’s arm. “That’s very kind of you, Jack, thank you. I know Melina would appreciate it, and we could see Gareth off with the dignity he deserves.”

“Hm.” Jack gives a short, almost embarrassed nod.

The half-orc sighs even as he grins at his friends. “You know, I was worried that we were getting too into the whole “deal with our enemies by emotionally destroying them” thing, but that wasn’t so bad! Yuu didn’t insult him at all!”

“I don’t need to insult anyone to destroy them emotionally.” The tiefling counters with a mini-bow. “But thank you, Deuce. I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off if Sebek hadn’t distracted that creepy priest though—if he’d asked for a writ of duty or something, we’d be cooked.”

“Well, it was only natural.” Sebek replies, scaled hands carefully turning the rudder to avoid an outcropping of rock. “I would have said the same if any of my liege’s vassal lords cast doubt on my suitability to bear his orders—it shows they do not respect his judgement and may be harboring treasonous intent.”

“That’s probably not too far off.” Jack mutters. “Right, Ortho?”

The threadborne nods, fidgeting with one of the flasks on his hip. “With the amount of worshippers in the monastery…even if the vast majority of them are noncombatants, there was still a sizable armed force—enough to storm Wickermoor if they decided to. I’m not sure about other areas of Druskenvald, but I don’t think it would take much more recruitment if the Abbot decided he wanted to expand his operations.”

There’s a moment of worried contemplation.

“Welp!” Ace says brightly. “Good thing that isn’t our problem!”

“Wait, what?” Weston Murdoch looks between the seven young people before him. “What do you mean, “not your problem”? What about the divorce trial?”

“Oh, that? That was pure forgery!” Epel grins. “It was all Ace with a calligraphy kit and a nice scroll we bought in Dawn’s Gate! He even managed to copy Phillip’s emblem perfectly!”

“What can I say?” The half elf shrugs, crossing his arms behind his head. “We saw a lot of it on his luggage on the train—I’m just that good.”

“But, the request that it be held in Wickermoor Village by Lord Druskenvald?” Weston asks, boggled.

“That was Yuu’s idea.” Jack nudges them in the side, which they accept with a nod, explaining. “The more truth a lie has, the easier it is to tell and the harder it is to discover. Plus, Phillip is the ultimate authority in the land and is currently located in Wickermoor Village—who would question it if he decided to arbitrate a conflict between two prominent citizens that was brought to his attention?”

“As I said before,” Sebek adds with a reptilian smirk. “Only a treasonous fool would dare call their ruler into question or disobey a direct summons!”

“So, this Matron Lethica…?”

“Has never even set foot in Wickermoor!” Ortho cheers. Deuce scratches his cheek. “I thought it felt kinda mean, but it’s smart and it worked, right?”

“But,” The holy man’s brow furrows. “But doesn’t that mean the Crimson Abbot will still be coming to Wickermoor Village in just two weeks’ time? For the divorce trial? What will happen when he arrives and realizes it was all a ruse?”

The seven teenagers freeze.

“You did consider this possibility.” Weston says weakly. “Didn’t you?”

“Oh, we are FUCKED!” Ace cries.

Yuu buries their face in their hands with a low groan.

“What do we do? What do we do??” Deuce frets. “Epel, this was your idea, right? What do we do now?”

“I-I dunno!” Epel protests. “I was jus’ tryna figure out how we could get the Reverend outta there without the cultists attackin’ us!”

“And you did not think any further ahead than that?!” Ortho asks, incredulous. “Epel!”

“Well it still worked, didn’t it?! Excuse me for tryna problem solve!”

“How is it problem solving if the “solution” leaves us with an even bigger problem than we first started with?!” Ortho retorts, ball-jointed hands thrown into the air for emphasis.

“It will be fine! We, we will just fight him there!” Sebek blusters. “It will be on our home turf, so for once we will have the advantage—“

“And what about the villagers? Phillip and Adela?” Jack growls. “They’d barely recovered from us discovering the pigeon hag when the centipedes came, there’s no way the village’s defenses or stores are sturdy enough to withstand that guy and his inquisitors. If he shows up and discovers it was all a lie, it’ll be a massacre!”

“So we make it not a lie.”

Everyone turns to stare at the tiefling.

“What do you mean, Yuu?” Ortho asks.

“We have to make it not a lie.” They repeat, eerie blue irises burning against black sclera. “If the Abbot shows up to Wickermoor Village and the trial is there, actually happening, he won’t have a reason to attack. So we need to make the trial real.”

“I’m sorry, you wanna double down?!” Ace asks, flabbergasted. “By hosting a divorce trial between a blood-crazed cult leader and an eldritch mad scientist?!”

“We have two weeks.” Yuu insists. “First thing we do when we get back to the village is have everyone who can begin to evacuate—head to Foxwillow or Murkwater Bend, keep them out of the line of fire if things do get ugly. We get Philip onboard somehow…I mean, Adela owes us for getting her wedding ring back, maybe she can help us pitch it. Then we run the same con again on the Matron. Say that he’s the one filing for divorce to get her to come.”

“Yeah,” Deuce says slowly, excitement creeping in. “Yeah, that, that could work! And, and we could be part of the jury, and Briggsy could be like, a bailiff or something, make sure neither of ‘em try to hurt Phillip or Adela!”

There’s a beat of silence. It’s broken when Ace raises a hand and wobbles it back and forth with an “eeeh?”

“The hell do you have against Briggsy, jackass?!” Deuce stumbles as he stands, sending the sailboat rocking unevenly in the water. “You wanna go?!”

“Deuce, buddy.” Ace slings an arm round the half-orc’s shoulders and pulls him back down to sit. “Listen, no one is happier than I am that you saved Briggsy from getting dusted and brought him back to Wickermoor with us. He is the only guy in the whole village who knows how to have fun—no offense, Reverend—”

Weston Murdoch presses a hand to his chest, eyes wide and hurt.

“—and he’s probably the coolest adult we know aside from Yorgrim, who set the bar at like, supernaturally awesome.” Ace spreads his hands and accepts the murmurs of agreement on how cool Yorgrim is. “But, Briggsy did kick my legs out from under me and leave me to get eaten by centipedes and a fleshdobbin when we took him to the mines with us.”

“That wasn’t his fault!” Deuce protests. “He-he said it was dark!”

“I hear you, and look, I’m not saying I wouldn’t have done the same thing if I was in his place.” Ace says soothingly. “But, y’know, maybe we don’t give him the job of protecting the Druskenvalds until we’re 100% certain he won’t shove ‘em in the river and book it out of the Hollow if things go south.”

The half-orc subsides with a mutter of “well I don’t think he would,” as Yuu rallies and asks. “Okay so, other than that, any questions?”

“What if the Matron does not fall for our ruse?” Ortho pipes up with a raised hand. “Or decides not to come for some other reason?”

“Then Phillip can issue a gracious apology on her behalf when the Abbot arrives, saying that she decided to rescind her suit that very morning and there was no time to send a rider.” Yuu replies. “It’s not uncommon—half the aristocrats’ divorces in Galtica were just playacting to get attention. Nine times out of ten, the papers would be served during some sort of public gathering to pander to a larger audience and shame the spouse into coming home. There was scandal if one actually saw the thing through.”

Epel squints with distinctly Yonian distaste. “I don’t get rich people.”

“But what if she does show up?” Jack rolls a shoulder back. “Yuu, you said those dreams of yours showed that she went off the deep end and was just as dangerous as the Abbot. Even if this works, all we’ve done is invite two monsters into town instead of just one.”

Yuu’s lips purse. “That’s true. But what I’m hoping is that they’ll at least behave in front of each other and Phillip. No one wants to look bad in front of their ex or their ruler, let alone both. Hells, maybe they’ll decide to use this as a chance to, I don’t know, talk out their differences, reconcile, stop being evil.”

“You really think?” Deuce’s eyes take on an inspired sparkle.

“No.” Yuu says bluntly. “That kind of shit only happens in songs or romance novels. Best we can probably hope for is that that they both get so down about being divorced they stop hurting people and leave us be.”

Deuce droops. Ortho pats his hand in commiseration.

“Wait. What if they get to Wickermoor, see each other, and just, yanno. Let loose.” Epel makes several very illustrative gestures. “There was this one couple back home who had a real messy breakup, an’ I mean messy. If you invited one a’them to a thing, and the other guy was there, you’d have to keep ‘em separated the entire time or they’d start goin’ after each other with the silverware an’ they did not care who got caught in the crossfire. ‘S where I got this!”

He unbuttons his gambeson and rolls up his shirt. Everyone peers at the silvery scar on the halfling’s side that’s almost a foot long, muttering compliments and commiserations.

“Well,” Yuu straightens. “If they do go for each others’ throats, we can always just stay out of the line of fire and see which one wins. Protect the buildings and whoever’s left in town, and then finish off the one left standing if they’re not willing to change their ways. It’d save us a lot of energy, at least.”

“Hmph, a coward’s recourse.” Sebek lifts his chin and puffs out his chest mightily. “Why snivel and hide when we could triumph in honorable combat! For the glory of House Draconia and my liege, let us teach Druskenvald’s ne’er-do-wells what it is to truly fear, and smite both of these villains simultaneously!!”

The others stare at the dragonborn. Yuu jerks a thumb at him, “Okay, so if a fight breaks out, we buff and heal Sebek from a safe distance to keep him from dying while he enjoys his ménage à trois, agreed?”

“Agreed.” Chorus the five teenagers, backed by Sebek’s indignant squawk of, “EXCUSE ME?!”

“It is nothing to be ashamed of, Sebek!” Ortho chirps. “I will be sure to bear in mind that for future romantic partnerships, you would prefer to be the third in a previously established relationship with two older participants. This will increase my wingmanning efficiency by twenty percent!”

There is a clear pileup of retorts, protests, and objections behind Sebek’s eyes, so the only thing that emerges from his mouth is a thin, ragged wheeze.

“Holy shit, Ortho, you killed him.” Epel mutters. “Like, actually killed him.”

Ortho flails guiltily, leaning into the dragonborn’s space to check his pulse, before turning back with squinting suspicion. “But he is still breathing?”

“Never mind that. What if,” Ace interjects with the shit-eating tone of a professional younger sibling. “They talk things out, reconcile, and become even more evil together?”

“Then we, we fucking die or something, I don’t know!” Yuu bursts. “Look, if you guys have a better idea, I’m all ears, but so far this is the only one where everyone doesn’t die horribly. You know. Immediately.”

There’s a trading of glances as everyone waits for someone else to spontaneously propose a better idea.

No one does.

“Then it’s settled.” Yuu decrees grimly. “We don’t know how many mind-reading abilities the Matron has, or if the Abbot has any, so we keep this need-to-know only. We’ll have to tell Phillip and Adela—“

“And Briggsy.” Deuce chimes in.

“—and Briggsy—“ The tiefling concedes.

“And Yorgrim.” Jack adds. At the questioning looks he receives, his shoulders hunch defensively. “What? He said he used to be friends with them. He can help us work out a viable game plan if worst comes to worst.”

“…no, yeah, that’s fair actually. Okay, only Phillip, Adela, Briggsy and Yorgrim and we can know the truth. No one else, just in case.” They shoot an apologetic grimace at Weston Murdoch. “Sorry Reverend, but we’ll need you to help us lie to the others. It’ll probably be best if you evacuate too, so if the Abbot brings company, no one identifies you and tries to drag you back.”

“That’s.” Weston rubs his hands over his face and surfaces with a look of weary determination. “For the best, I suppose. At least I’ll be with my wife, children, and neighbors under the Brightsinger’s gaze rather than about to be burned alive.”

“See? Silver linings.” Ace claps him on the shoulder. “And this is all a worst case scenario. I mean, what are the odds the guy drags himself out of his creepy monastery anyway?”

[briassreblogs]

Father Renathyr’s Terrible Night

“This is most likely going to get us all killed.”

“Oh c’mon, we gotta! I mean, we got a duty here, we can’t pussy out now. D’you wanna disappoint Philip an’ Adela?”

“No…”

“Do you see the size of this place? How many cultists there are? If this pisses that guy off, do you think any of us are making it out alive?”

“Hmph, they will fall before my blade like wheat before a scythe if they try anything. If the man is so craven he cannot even hear bad news without attacking the messengers who bear it, it shows how weak his spirit and the spirits of his followers are!”

“Still, I mean, it feels kinda…mean? Are you sure we can’t w—“

“Oh, yeah, the guy who ran out on his wife to run the creepy blood monastery that everyone lives in fear of needs us to be nice to him. Please, he’s had this a long time coming.”

“Yeah, but I’m just saying—“

“Shush! They’re opening the doors. If we want to survive this, you guys need to look professional and let me do the talking. Got it?”

“Got it.” “Understood.” “Got it.” “Roger!” “Let’s go already!” “Edelwood preserve us.”

Father Renathyr smiles as he watches the preparations below.

The corrupted struggle and weep and plead as they are tied tight to the stakes by his faithful. Inquisitor Cromwell supervises with a careful eye, her crossbow at the ready to dissuade any escape attempts. Friar Olaf is directing those faithful occupied with other tasks, adding the final logs to the pyres, sweeping the courtyard clear of any debris, ensuring the entire congregation is in attendance.

Houndmaster Jaeger is walking quickly, but not urgently, towards the back stairs that lead up to his personal balcony. Father Renathyr is content to wait and watch over the faithful below as Jaeger ascends and joins him on the balcony. Nothing in Jaeger’s comportment suggests there is cause for alarm, so the news he bears from the patrolling of the guards and his hounds must be a matter that that will pique the Father’s interest.

Jaeger gives a short bow and leans in to murmur. “Milord Abbot, we have received reports of seven newcomers. Arrived in Dawn’s Gate not half an hour ago, did some asking around about the Faith in town, then came straight here.”

Father Renathyr’s mouth curls into a smirk. “Then let us ensure they are welcomed with all the hospitality we can muster—have the gate guard send them in.”

“It shall be done, Milord.” He bows his head and strides away to dispense these orders.

On his hip, a feeling of satisfaction stirs from the Duchess. Father Renathyr basks in this benediction, licking his lips as he watches the final preparations be completed.

Just as it is time for him to begin the Night of Flames, the grand doors to the courtyard open on cue.

The group of newcomers trail into the space, seven in total as Jaeger had promised.

An armored blue dragonborn and a burly wood elf in hides and furs bring up the rear, watching the faithful surrounding them warily. In the center, a pierced half-orc and a tattooed half-elf flank a magenta tiefling, all in varying levels of patched-together attire and nerves. The group is led by a sweet-looking halfling and a gnome-sized threadborne, the former bearing symbols of the Harvest Mother, the latter the dress of a scholar.

All (save the threadborne) practically oozing the vitality of those born and grown in the Material Realm. All clearly young enough to not realize the weight of their inexperience.

What a blessing the Crimson Rose has sent him this night.

“My children,” He announces, spreading his arms wide. “We have guests joining us on this joyous night.”

His flock encircles the group, ushering them towards a place of honor near the pyres as Father Renathyr continues, “Welcome, welcome one and all to the Crimson Monastery. We have warm beds and hearty food, enough to satiate any weary pilgrims who journey to us under the blessing of the Crimson Rose’s light. Please, do not be shy. Step forward and make yourselves known.”

Six of the company falter at his request, clustering closer under the scrutiny of the faithful pressing in from all sides.

The tiefling alone steps forward, breaking formation. A worn banjo hooked over one shoulder and posture curiously lopsided—perhaps to compensate for the missing tail—and interestingly, a sealed scroll clutched tightly in white-knuckled hands.

“May I ask if you are Father Marius Renathyr, Abbot of the Crimson Rose?”

How curiously formal. He nods. “I am indeed. But please, just Father will suffice.”

His voice raises and he addresses the crowd as much as the tiefling and their companions. “You have arrived during a most auspicious ceremony, for we are to celebrate the purification of the corrupted in the Night of Flames. Please, will you not join us in the celebrations?”

“W-we come bearing a message for you.” The tiefling replies. “It is imperative that we notify you of its contents as soon as possible. May we retire to a more private space with a witness or witnesses of your choosing, or would you wish to hear this message now?”

There are murmurs, half-humored, half-indignant among the congregation. Of the boldness, the brashness, to presume to interrupt the Night of Flames.

Father Renathyr lets his head tilt to the side, paternal amusement and faint chiding plain in his countenance. “My child, these celebrations cannot be postponed, lest the wicked be condemned to corruption. Can this message not wait?”

“No, Father.” The tiefling’s head bows. “Our apologies, but we are under oath to relay its contents as soon as we laid eyes upon you. Forgive the inconvenience, I will endeavor to be quick in the reading.”

So saying, the scroll is unfurled while Father Renathyr’s lip curls ever so slightly. An oath, is it? This goes beyond presumption into impertinence—

“To Father Marius Renathyr, Abbot of the Crimson Rose, we bear a missive on behalf of Head Matron Lethica Renathyr, née Nightborne, of Memory’s Rest Sanatorium.” The tiefling recites. “This missive announces her intent to formally sue for divorce.”

The courtyard goes so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

“W-what?” Marius asks.

“Matron Lethica Renathyr, hereafter referred to as the Plaintiff, alleges abandonment, abuse, and spousal neglect on the part of Father Marius Renathyr, hereafter referred to as the Defendant, which have led her to this course of action.” The tiefling continues pitilessly. “The Plaintiff seeks liberation from the bonds of marriage to the Defendant alongside alimony commiserate with the emotional and physical damages she sustained during their union, which may be recompensed through the continual payment of finances or lands which the Defendant is ordered to relinquish.”

Marius is pretty sure someone in the crowd yells “WHAT?!” setting off a chorus of scandalized muttering, but his heart is too busy breaking to tell who.

“This case will be heard before the highest authority in the lands of Druskenvald, in Wickermoor Village, a fortnight hence.”The tiefling finally lowers the scroll they are reading from to look up at him. “Do you, as the Defendant, acknowledge in the presence of these witnesses that you have heard and understood this summons?”

“I, hold on.” He grips the balcony with one hand and Duchess with the other, desperate for balance, for guidance.

“My apologies for pressing, Father, but we need a verbal confirmation from you before the matter can be considered resolved.” The tiefling says apologetically. “Do you, as the Defendant—“

“This is an outrage! An affront to the Abbot! Borderline heresy!!” Spittle flies from Friar Olaf’s mouth as he charges forward and demands, “Who even is presiding over this farce of a trial?!”

“Lord Philip Druskenvald, sir.” The tiefling returns almost cheerfully. “The Lord and Lady Druskenvald are currently holidaying in Wickermoor Village, where the good Matron sought them out to plead her case. In his wisdom and mercy, Lord Druskenvald bid us journey to you here as his representatives on behalf of the Matron.”

Marius stares down. Nothing in the tiefling’s tone or body language gives any sign of falsehood…

So it’s true then. Lethica has finally decided she wants nothing to do with him anymore. Wants to sever the last tie binding them, however tenuous it may be.

Olaf splutters, the flames of his torch flaring dangerously as he gestures with it to the motley group. “You?! Lord Philip Druskenvald asked you to represent him?!”

“STILL YOUR TONGUE, HUMAN!” The dragonborn erupts, causing several (including the tiefling (and Marius)) to startle back. He pushes his way towards the friar, causing Cromwell to try and force her way through the crowd to intercept. “YOU WOULD DARE QUESTION THE LORD OF DRUSKENVALD?! ARE ALL IN YOUR ORDER PRONE TO SUCH TREASONOUS THOUGHTS?!”

“Enough.” The tiefling snaps, quelling what is surely a paladin with a stern tone. Turning to Marius, the horned head inclines. “My deepest apologies for my companion’s outburst, Father, no slight was meant. It is an honor and a privilege to be called upon to serve Lord Druskenvald’s wishes, and all we seek is to be worthy of the faith he placed in us. Which is why I must ask, again, do you, as the Defendant, acknowledge in the presence of these witnesses that you have heard and understood this summons?”

“I do.” The words leech from him like blood staining cloth.

“Our thanks, Father.” The entire group bows to Marius at the tiefling’s gesture. “If you have any interest in pursing a countersuit, you may take the fortnight to prepare and submit your case to Lord Druskenvald on the day of the trial in Wickermoor Village. In any case, we shall leave this with your most trusted aide,” Cromwell preens slightly as she accepts the proffered scroll, while Olaf glares. “And take our leave to Wickermoor Village to inform his Lordship of the news right away. A most blessed Night of Flames to you all.”

And with that, the strange company of eight turns and proceeds quietly and respectfully out of the courtyard.

As if that message had not violently reopened a wound Marius had long pretended was closed and salted it for good measure.

There is a hollow ache inside of him, a pit even deeper than his normal hunger which threatens to swallow him whole. He barely even registers taking the scroll from Cromwell, the ornate curled “D” seal of this land’s progenitors adorning the header. He idly notes that the calligraphy is beautiful and in smooth black ink, which somehow makes the words written there all the more heart rending.

Marius looks down to see the masses of the Crimson Faithful staring up at him, expectant. Something in their eyes that could be called worry if it were not so hungry.

He is meant to lead them, guide them, but all he can think in this moment is that if he says a word, there will be nothing to keep him from falling to pieces.

Good, loyal Sigmund Jaeger steps forward to do what Marius cannot currently. “All right, his lordship the Abbot needs to spend some time in prayer, to contemplate…to contemplate. All you lot, clear out!”

There’s muttering and whispering as the courtyard empties, furtive glances, Olaf hissing something about Jaeger undermining his authority, but all Marius can do is clap a grateful hand on his former squire’s shoulder and turn to do as he has suggested.

He needs clarity, needs guidance, to remember why he must stay his path. He needs to commune with the Crimson Rose, hear what she would have him do, needs to get to his sanctum—

The memory of the portrait of Lethica in pride of place down there stalls Marius’ steps, forces the breath to shudder out of him.

On second thought, maybe he should try taking communion in the chapel instead.

[vigaishere]

REBLOG if you have amazing talented artist friends!

[shuckledeleted]

[britishassistant]

Didn’t get this completed in time for pride month but frankly I’m still having too much fun with the Twst Space Opera AU

[britishassistant]

Real Space Cowboys (Have No Tact)

“You don’t have to come in with us.” Yuu repeats outside the studio. “If you wanna head back to watch Ace, Deuce and Epel get their asses kicked by a galaxy renowned supermodel, Grim and I can handle turning in the registration paperwork.”

“It’s fine, Yuu.” Jack smiles, clapping their shoulder. “Knowing how Vil gets, it’s better for us to be here than there—”

“Yes!” Sebek declares vehemently. “We are not leaving you two alone to get kidnapped again! It would shame my honor as an enforcer of Malleus Draconia!”

“That was one time!!” Grim hisses from his place on Yuu’s shoulders, pronged tail whipping furiously. “If it wasn’t for Jamil’s stupid hypnosis eyes, my minion and I woulda been fine!!”

“Hah! A likely—”

“Let’s just get inside.” Yuu sighs, making their way through the studio’s front entrance with Jack at their side, inconsiderately leaving him to scramble to catch up.

Inside is more pink, orange and gold than Sebek thinks he has ever seen in his life. Everything is either polished to an eye-watering sheen or made of some plush, crushed material that somehow also shimmers under the gleaming lights.

It’s also filled to the brim with people. There’s a hum of soft chatter in the air as the other contestants in this “vocal and dance competition” cluster in small groups or wander between lines and different rooms. A blue oozoid in a leotard and cape, a marsoom with dyed fur, and a stardust human with a challenging scowl brush past Sebek, heading towards another group where a young Solari waves eagerly at them.

He tries his best to follow Jack’s pointed white ears, as Yuu and Grim are all but invisible in this throng, and somehow doesn’t get separated as the four of them get in line for…something.

“Good afternoon,” Yuu says with a pleasant smile once they’re at the front. “We’re the appointed representatives for Vil Schoenheit—is this where we drop off his registration paperwork?”

The zeticulan sitting behind the table startles, knocking away a pen with their long thin fingers. “V-Vil Schoenheit?! O-of course, of course, w-well, no, ah. Sorry, don’t know where my head is, gosh, uh.”

The incompetent keeps fumbling until they finally pull themselves together enough to say, “I’ll take the top two papers here and file them for you, but each of the judges for Singing and Dancing in the Stars need to sign off on the last page here. They’re all in their dressing rooms, which are signposted throughout the building. Then, once you’ve got everything, just drop it off in that pink box over there, see?”

Yuu nods as they turn back around. “Yes, thank you so much for your help.” Then, in a murmur and accompanied by an elbow jab that is barely even a tickle to Sebek’s cybernetic torso. “Sebek, stop glaring at the nice underpaid worker or I’ll tell chat your favorite song is Thunder & Lightning by Space Ninja Sex Party.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” He utters, aghast.

Ever since Yuu’s chat discovered that Deuce didn’t know that space chicken eggs could be laid unfertilized, they spammed egg and space chicken emojis every time he was visible on stream. What would they do to him if he became associated with that vulgar song that Ace loves to taunt him with?!

“Try me.” They whisper back with a teasing grin.

He turns away with a grumble, ignoring the sniggering of the little gremlin perched on their shoulder.

“And here you go!” The zeticulan says as they hand back the sheet that apparently needs to be signed. “Oh, and, uh, a small word of advice. You didn’t hear this from me, but some folks have been finding that some judges are, uhm, chattier than others, so it might be best to start with Ms. Cristeale or Mxes Silly Rebel instead of, um. The others.”

Jack blinks, reading the page and then glancing back up. “There’s only four judges though?”

The zeticulan lets out a weak, slightly hysterical chuckle, large iridescent black eyes fixed on the table in front of them.

“We’ll bear that in mind. Thank you again,” Yuu flashes another diplomatic smile as they turn to him and Jack. “Let’s go. Hopefully we can knock this out and get back pretty quickly.”

The first judge they find is an isotron with CRISTEALE on her dressing room door in neon pink and blue letters.

Her code is exactly the same shades, divided vertically down her body as she emerges from the CRT monitor connecting the dressing room in the real world to the (much more lavish) one he can see in the hypergrid. The only thing that isn’t neon pink and blue are her oversized frameless sunglasses.

“Vil Schoenheit, huh?” She says as she picks up a pink and blue glitter pen and signs with a sparkling flourish. “You know, I’ve always liked that twink—he at least knows how to dress himself and have a good time, unlike certain goody-two-shoes I could mention. Y’all give him my love, mkay?”

“We’ll be sure to.” Yuu promises with a nod and the singer sees them off with a wave of her fingers as she slips back into her digital dressing room.

The two artists who make up the Silly Rebel music group are a zorbrak and a jenovan in face-concealing electronic masks, brassy metallic gloves and boots, and skintight sequin-covered leathers. They are silent as they let the four of them into their gunmetal gold dressing room, which seems to have wires and machines with blinking lights strewn almost decoratively.

Wait, Sebek realizes, peering closer. They are decorative. None of these machines or wires appear to be plugged into anything at all. Even the metallic masks, gloves, and boots, which he had taken for cybernetic enhancements like his own, appear to be just—just clothing!

The jenovan catches his eye as they hand the signed paper back to Yuu. The display on their mask generates a set of smiling teeth and they lift a finger to it.

“But why would they not just get cybernetic enhancements instead of playing pretend?” Sebek asks again as they head towards the final dressing room. “It makes no sense!”

“It’s a gimmick, Sebek.” Jack’s massaging the back of his neck. “A lot of their stuff is synth, so they’re leaning into it for the act. Like how I had to play up the “savage wolf” image for Savannaclaw team promotional stuff. It’s to get them more fans.”

“Hmph, maybe that works for those who are contented being duped.” He scowls as they turn down another poster-lined corridor. “I would much rather support someone who is true to themselves, someone who is honorable, someone with an air of nobility, someone like—!!”

“You wanted to pull their helmets off, didn’t ya?” Grim asks snidely.

“N-NO! That is utterly ABSURD!” He protests vigorously. “It would be dishonorable to behave in such a way towards a judge! I would never bring shame upon my liege with such disgraceful thoughts!”

“Ah-HAH! So ya DID think about it!” The insolent creature points an accusatory paw.

“BASELESS SLANDER!!”

Yuu rolls their eyes as they glance away from a poster of some new human pop singer, neon tubing woven into a ridiculously long blonde braid. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve just got one judge left, and then we can head back to the Ramshackle. Hopefully Vil and Rook haven’t had too much fun with those three.”

“I asked Ortho to record their practice.” Jack supplies with a sly grin.

“Jack,” Grim says seriously. “You’re a genius, y’know.”

“I know.” Even Sebek has to huff out a laugh alongside his companions as they arrive at a dressing room door that’s festooned with neon orange lights around the frame.

No one answers the door at Yuu’s first knock.

Nor do they answer at their second or third more impatient ones. Or Jack’s fourth and fifth hammerings on the door with the side of his fist.

It takes Sebek pounding as hard as he can with his cybernetic arm before anything happens.

There’s a shuffling sound, a click, and a half-dressed gorgonite with deep purple scales slips out of the doorway and hustles away down the corridor without a word to any of them.

“Well, hello there~”

Turning back around reveals a solari man in the most makeup Sebek has ever seen on anyone wearing only a silk bathrobe. The amount of bronzer he’s wearing seems like it would be enough to fund the entire industry, glittering on his orange skin. His cherry red into sunset gold hair has been styled into a lengthy pompadour without even a strand out of place. He even has a small yellow heart painted on one cheek, just under his flawlessly winged eye—maybe the red one Ace spends ages applying in the bathroom every morning is part of some solari heritage thing he’s never explained?

The man rakes his eyes over Sebek, from the tips of his horns to the metal of his feet. He straightens, as if trying to match Sebek’s own height. “Anything I can help you with?”

He’s still about six inches shorter.

“Mr. Maxim, I presume?” Yuu asks politely. “We’re sorry to disturb y—”

“Please, please, sweet thing, call me Rex,” The solari winks with a too-shiny white grin. “Rex Maxim, Real Space Cowboy is a mouthful.”

“Who?” Grim asks, ears cocked in confusion.

As inelegantly expressed as it was, Sebek wholeheartedly agrees with this statement. He has never heard of this “Rex Maxim” before in his life.

“Wow, okay, and what are you exactly?” The “real space cowboy” peers down at Grim with feigned interest. His eyebrow twitches as he continues. “Man, you look like some of the rare forms of alien life I used to uncover back on my bounty hunting show! Guess that explains how you haven’t heard of me—tell me, does your species spent part of its lifecycle under a rock?”

“Fgnah?! Why you!!” Grim protests, flames in his ears flaring up before Yuu puts a hand on his chest to hold him back. “Mr. Maxim, I didn’t know you were trying to get into standup comedy as a hobby. How fascinating, may we come in?”

“Of course, please, come on in.” Rex Maxim steps away from the door and waves a careless hand to beckon them in as he heads towards a dressing table. “My door’s always open for my many adoring fans.”

Sebek hopes against hope that this deeply strange man is wearing underwear beneath that robe. He does not want to enter the dressing room of a naked stranger.

Inside the room, all the furniture seems to be made of crushed red velvet. Even the mini fridge humming away in the corner is covered in the stuff. Crowding each wall are dozens upon dozens of framed adverts with this “Rex Maxim” front and center, usually winking or pouting at the camera while in the middle of some feat that might be death-defying if it didn’t look so fake. There’s even one on the ceiling.

Grim catches his eye and mouths “W e i r d o.”

His answering nod is subtle but vehement enough to communicate his agreement.

Yuu coughs. “We’re here representing one Vil Schoenheit, Mr. Maxim. He wishes to participate in Singing and Dancing in the Stars, and we just need your signature to make that happen.”

“Saving the best for last, huh? I get it, I get it.” The entertainer takes the paper from them and casts a dismissive eye over it. “Vil Schoenheit, huh? Eh, he’s popular, a great up-and-comer and all, but I’ve heard he’s kind of, you know.”

He looks around the room expectantly. Sebek isn’t sure what kind of response he wants them to give.

“Vil’s a good guy.” Jack says staunchly, ears not fully pinned back, but getting there. “He’s a hard worker and it’s taken him a lot of dedication and effort to get to where he is now. Even I know how—”

“Say, have we met?” Rex Maxim interrupts rudely, staring at Yuu. “I mean, I don’t say this lightly, but something about you…it’s so familiar to me, I’d almost say something cosmic brought you here. The gods, the Harmony...”

“The competition. Which you are a judge of.” Yuu responds with a rigid smile. The one Sebek knows they use whenever they have to charm someone they find deeply annoying. “Mr. Maxim, we understand and appreciate how valuable your time is and would hate to waste any more of it, so if you could please just sign here, we—”

“Holy shit,” Rex Maxim snaps his fingers and points at them. “You’re Yoru’s kid! Karatsumori Yoru, right?”

Yuu’s head snaps up as he, Jack, and Grim blink in confusion.

“Who?” Sebek asks.

“Wh-I-nn—?” Yuu sputters.

And then the “space cowboy” stands and steps in too close and pushes the human’s hair up out of their face, completely ignoring Grim’s “Hey!”

“Yeah, see?” He enthuses even as Yuu tries to jerk away. “You’re the spitting image of her! Man, I was so bummed—”

Jack’s hand snaps shut around Rex Maxim’s wrist with a grinding sound, snout wrinkled in a snarl. “Don’t touch them.”

“Eeeasy, big guy.” The entertainer says before Sebek can voice his support for snapping that wrist like a twig. “No harm done here. We don’t want things to get ugly, do we?”

At Yuu’s indrawn breath and Jack’s low growl, Sebek looks down to see a blaster aimed point blank at his own ribs.

“H-HOW DARE YOU?! SOLARI, YOU WILL REMOVE YOUR WEAPON FROM MY PERSON AT ONCE!!”

“I will,” Rex Maxim replies, infuriatingly calm. “Just as soon as our fluffy friend here cools his jets and backs off.”

“You—!” Jack rumbles as Grim hisses “Ya slimy, cheating—!” before Yuu cuts them off.

“That’s enough. I’m fine, Jack, it’s—well. I’ll forgive Mr. Maxim’s rudeness this once. It’s obvious he’s excitable.”

Somehow immune to the venom dripping from the human’s tone, Rex Maxim beams. “Man, it is uncanny! Like I’m speaking with a cute lil’ mini version of her! You’ve even got the maybe-bedroom-maybe-murder stare down cold!”

Yuu chokes. “Bedr-what the f—?!”

Jack yanks his hand away, which has the knock-on effect of knocking the impudent solari’s hands off their human.

“Quit messing with my minion!!” Grim yowls.

The man laughs and rests the blaster against his shoulder. “Man, fun bunch ain’tcha?”

“I-in any case.” Yuu tries to regain their composure. “Mr. Maxim, I can honestly say that I’ve never met this person you keep referring to, so I cannot confirm if I am in any way related to them.”

Sebek glances at them out of the corner of his eye. That phrasing was…odd. Weirdly overly precise?

Jack catches his gaze with a similar look of confusion. Grim is still hunched up on Yuu’s shoulders, bristling almost quietly.

Rex Maxim is staring at them, head tilted. Then, a slow smirk begins to dawn as he nods to himself.

“Oh,” He says knowingly. “So you’re the other kid. Got it, got it.”

If Sebek weren’t watching them for any cues on whether he should let loose and deal with this deeply irritating man his way, he would miss it entirely.

Yuu goes still. Not a muscle twitches.

He’s not even sure the human’s breathing.

Rex Maxim turns and strides towards a minibar, perusing its contents as he sets the blaster on top of it. “Still, I was real bummed to hear about her passing. She was one of the best lawyers to pass the bar, a real wizard at getting people off. Any of y’all want whiskey?”

“What’s whiskey?” Grim asks, curiosity tentatively winning out over anger. “Does it taste good?”

“Sure it does!” Rex declares, pouring a generous glass. “Here, if you wanna try—”

“NO!” He, Jack and Yuu yell.

“Fgnah!” Grim’s hackles raise as he recoils from the three of them. “Y-you don’t have t’shout, ya know!”

“Grim.” Yuu says seriously. “Whiskey’s alcoholic.”

“Like the beer you st-tried on Zaphod-9.” Jack adds. “Except it’s much stronger.”

“And you remember why that’s a bad idea,” Sebek asks severely, pinning the small creature under a hard stare. “Right?”

To his credit, Grim does curl in on himself with a small “yes,” eyes staring forwards vacantly.

They were extremely lucky that there were no casualties on Zaphod-9. Here, in a confined studio filled with flammable equipment and furnishings and people who would have no idea what was happening until it was too late…

It makes Sebek shudder to think of it.

The solari glances between them, before shrugging and taking a gulp of the drink. “Eh, your loss. Speaking of loss!”

“Please don’t.” Jack grits out. “All we want is a sig—”

“Man, your mom was one fine lady,” Rex Maxim continues, swirling his whiskey contemplatively. “Stellar body, a face that could make anyone beg, and legs that would not quit, whew! Biggest damn crime in the galaxy was that she was only into the ladies. I’d loved to give her a cowboy ride, if you catch my drift.”

His eyebrows raise and lower repulsively.

It isn’t even Sebek’s mother that’s being talked about, and he wants to take his baton to this Solari’s head until the bastard stops.

Yuu makes a noise that somehow mingles disgust and confusion. “B-But. What? That doesn’t make, make sense, she. The, there was the whole scandal with the-that CEO—!”

“The head of Gracey Incorporated? Yeah, nasty business.” Rex shakes his head and takes a swig of his drink. “Of course, this was back when they were still just a small-time no-name subsidy of Nexus instead of the powerhouse branch they are now, but from what she said when she was begging for my help, even then he was bad news.”

“Begging for your help?” Jack’s brow furrows. “With what?”

“Hiding from mean ol’ Mr. Gracey, of course.” The solari takes another, obnoxiously loud sip. “She had that little kid with her, so who else would she go to for help other than Real Space Cowboy Rex Maxim? I’ve been everywhere there is to be in galaxy, so of course I know the best places to hide any unlucky ladies in distress so they can’t be found.”

“Even from the corpos?” Grim gapes. “Where? How’d ya keep ‘em hidden??”

“I have my connections.” Rex winks annoyingly.

Like him or not, even Sebek has to admit that’s an impressive feat. So he asks, “What kind of connections?”

“Eh, you know. Connections!” For some reason the man’s avoiding his gaze, a bead of sweat cutting through his makeup. “All you need to know is once I hide something, it stays hidden.”

“But not well. And not for long.” Yuu snaps, face still twisted in furious confusion. “Me—I heard that that woman was reported dead in a ship crash just outside the Janox sector, what, four years ago? And the child she stole was returned to her biological family.”

“Stole?!” Sebek wheels around, glaring accusing daggers at the entertainer. “So Gracey Incorporated were chasing this woman for kidnapping a child? And you helped her?!”

“Well—” Whatever the degenerate’s defense would have been, it’s cut off by Yuu’s vindictive, “That’s right! The male CEO’s newborn daughter, taken straight from her mother’s arms before she sadly passed! I-I mean, how the hell do you even explain this behavior if this woman wasn’t attracted to one man, at the very least?!”

“That guy had a wife though?” Rex Maxim grins.

Whatever retort the human had been about to make dies a wheezing death in their throat.

“Plus, y’know, you said it yourself.” The solari adds blithely. “Taken straight from her mother’s arms, was it? Most of the folks I boogie with are unattached, but I don’t think you hand off a baby to anyone unless you really trust ‘em with it. Like, say, a lover?”

The facial journey Yuu goes through is almost impressive in how concerning it is.

Rex Maxim lets out a cackle. “Oh man, your face! Chill out, sweet thing, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. You sure you don’t want a whiskey? Not even a sip?”

Yuu shakes their head. They don’t look up at him. They don’t look at anyone.

“Shame,” The entertainer shrugs. “After all, with all that juicy info you just gave me, I feel like I oughta do something nice in return. Do you take I.O.U.s?”

Their heads snap to him so fast Sebek can almost feel his neck crack.

“Whaddya mean?” Grim asks, voice hard.

“I mean, yeah, I knew she’d done something to piss off the Gracey to need my connections to hide, and yeah the kid was involved somehow,” Rex gestures with his almost-empty glass as he wanders back to his dressing table. “But who would’ve guessed it was because that little girl was the CEO’s youngest daughter? The one they’re shelling out so much to Jemini to promote, Meggy or something like that? Man, if the right tabloids caught wind of that, do you know how much money that could make me? Or how many notes Gracey might give me to keep quiet and point them in the direction of the leak? I mean, most of my gambling debts are behind me right now, but it might be useful to have some funds for the future. Unless someone could make me a better offer? Hm?”

Sebek has a sudden and unpleasant realization about how this “Yoru Karatsumori” ended up dying in a ship crash.

“Thing is, blackmail might be my main weakness.” Rex Maxim grins, leaning against the dressing table. “But it’s a whole lotta other people’s too.”

Yuu glowers at him silently.

“The hell do you want.” Jack snarls, ears almost pinned to his skull.

“Right now? Nothing.” The solari winks and shoots a set of finger guns at Yuu. “But the moment I do need something? You’ll be the first to know.”

Sebek wishes, not for the first time, that he’d agreed to the optional eye augmentations when he needed his cybernetics installed so he could fry trash like this with his glare alone.

“Of course,” Why is he still talking. “If you’d like to take a cowboy ride sweet thing, I certainly—”

“JUST SIGN THE DAMN PAPER ALREADY!!” Grim howls.

“Alright, alright, geez, keep your fur on.” Finally Rex Maxim gives them the one thing they’d entered this godsforsaken dressing room for. “Here ya go, one Rex Maxim auto—”

Sebek snatches the paper away from where he’d been proffering it to Yuu.

“—graph.” The entertainer looks him up and down with a raised eyebrow. “Well damn, greenie, if you were so excited for it, ya could have just asked—”

“I AM TEAL BLUE.” He snaps. “AND WE ARE LEAVING. NOW.”

There’s a line of entrants down the corridor outside the dressing room who grumble and mutter as they exit.

Sebek resists the urge to turn and yell that if they were so impatient, they could have knocked on the door or interrupted the whole of that terrible interaction at literally any point before this.

It’s more important to get his friends out of this orange, pink and gold nightmare.

Jack has Yuu all but under one arm, steering them through the throng as Grim perches on his opposite shoulder and Sebek covers his flank. Almost all of them are keeping an eye out in case the solari creep is having them followed, or will try to force them back.

Yuu isn’t. They still haven’t looked up from the floor, hollow-eyed and too quiet.

He leaves the group only briefly to stuff the godsforsaken paper that started all this into the pink box. Maybe he doesn’t check the force his cybernetic arm uses as well as he normally does, leaving the box distended and slightly crushed, but he can’t bring himself to care.

By the time he’s found his crew mates outside, Yuu is sitting up against the wall of the studio with their head pressed against their knees. Grim is coiled around their feet while Jack stands sentinel, teeth bared in a growl at anyone who tries to stop and stare.

“No one followed us.” He reports.

Jack nods. “Good, that’s. That’s good. Yuu, you doing okay?”

One shoulder shrugs jerkily.

“That guy was a jackass.” Grim decrees.

Jack rumbles out something that under better circumstances might be a chuckle. “You got that right.”

“Hmph. He must have bribed someone for the position.” Sebek huffs. “There’s no way any respectable establishment would take one look at him and not slam the door in his face.”

Yuu lets out a suspiciously wet laugh. “Y-yeah. Yeah.”

They fall silent again and Sebek can feel himself frowning as his mind races furiously.

The entire time he’s known them, the human has always insisted that “Yuu” is the only name they have and need. That they have no family anywhere in the galaxy.

But there’s no way that Yuu isn’t connected to this, this situation. The amount of details they’re privy to about this sordid little drama, and the way they refused to even say the names of any of the parties involved speaks for itself.

And then there is the fact that the solari pervert had referred to them as “the other kid”...

Sebek may not have enough puzzle pieces yet to put together even half of the full picture, but he greatly dislikes what he’s seeing.

Still, how in the names of all the gods of Agathos does he approach this?!

Does he grill them for more information so that the next time this comes up he can run interference? But Ortho and Ace are always whining at him to “be more sensitive” and it was like pulling teeth to even learn this much about them—pressing them for more while they’re in this state may just make them completely catatonic. Does he pretend like nothing happened and they just continue on with their day as normal? No, of course not, there’s no way the others wouldn’t notice if the four of them returned with this silent, hunted, dead-eyed Yuu in tow, and Deuce and Epel would pester him about what happened until the aether whales came home. Does he reassure them that it’s alright that their mother preferred women instead of men? Well, maybe, but he has a sneaking suspicion that despite how much Yuu protested the idea that shock at their mother’s sexuality wasn’t really at the heart of the matter.

Grim’s just leaning hard against their arm, odd grumbling purrs emanating from him, and Jack—

“Yuu,” Jack starts then stops, consternation twisting his muzzle. “You don’t. We don’t need to talk about what just happened in there if you don’t wanna. But you know we’ve got your back, no matter what, right? All of us.”

The human is still for a worryingly long moment.

Then, slowly, tentatively, they nod.

“O-of course! As if the ramblings of some degenerate blowhard could do anything besides irritate us! If it weren’t for his position as a judge, I would have beaten that grin off of his imbecilic face.” Sebek folds his arms across his chest, hoping to convey the confidence worthy of an enforcer of Malleus Draconia. Still, for some reason, he can’t keep his voice from softening as he glances down at Yuu. “Just. Just promise me something.”

They tilt their head up to look at him. The line of their mouth is oddly fragile.

“If that man attempts to contact you again,” He says seriously. “Tell us. Immediately. Don’t agree to meet with him unless two or more of us can accompany you. And do NOT have sex with him.”

The human recoils as if he’s slapped them, disgust twisting their features. “Wh—?! Of course not!! You, you think I’d actually stoop low enough to consider—?! Urgh!!”

For some reason, this animated reaction brings a smile to his face. “How was I to know? I’ve seen some of the people you’ve expressed interest in—your taste is questionable at best.”

“Excuse you,” They fire back, looking more themself with every moment. “I’m not the one who managed to make a Decemberween-obsessed Motlien fall in love with me because I shouted at him.”

“WHAT?! NO I DID NOT!!”

“Yeah, Yuu, that isn’t right.” Jack says. He’s about to thank him before the traitor adds. “Sebek also defeated that guy’s Varg nemesis and basically bridal carried him home to save Decemberween.”

“THAT NEVER HAPPENED!!”

“I thought he was gonna cry when you said you wouldn’t marry him an’ live with him forever in his bone castle.” Grim teases, tail flicking playfully.

“Obviously not!!” He protests. “If I did that, how could I serve my liege, or look after all of you?! You’d be hopeless without my protection!”

That makes the three of them laugh and hurl teasing rebuffs at him, but at least Yuu doesn’t look as dead inside as they had two minutes ago.

Still, when he and Jack haul them up to stand, they fidget, chewing on their lower lip. “…It’s probably better if I don’t help out as much as I was planning to with the competition. I’ll still stream the practices, if Vil’s okay with it, but I don’t wanna get close enough that that guy could try to force me to sabotage them.”

“You think he would?” Jack’s brows draw down, a low rumble under his words.

“Honestly? I don’t know—I got the impression that he really doesn’t like Vil, but I’m not sure if that’s a personal grudge, or if he just hates giving up the spotlight.” Yuu sighs. “Or, he could pull an Azul and ask me to stage some kind of heist to cover his gambling debts. Which would also look terrible for the others if I got caught or implicated.”

“We still don’t know that he will do anything.” Sebek points out. “But if he tries, then you have to let us know. You need to”.”

At their frown of indecision, Sebek looks them in the eye and says, “Please, Yuu.”

The human holds his gaze, then sets their jaw with a resolute nod. “Al-all right. I will.”

“Yeah, just leave ‘im to me!!” Grim proclaims, tail lashing and little chest puffed out. “I’ll make that jackass wish he’d never tried t’mess with my minion!”

“Hear hear.” Jack intones, his own tail swishing.

It isn’t fully better yet—Yuu still looks hunted and small, even if they’re smiling and slipping in small quips amongst the chatter as the four of them head back to the hotel. But it’s a start. And Sebek swears, on his honor as an enforcer of Prince Malleus Draconia, that he will repay the slight this Rex Maxim has given his friend a hundredfold.

(And when, after they have saved Vil Schoenheit from his Cacophony Chip corruption, Sebek accuses Rex Maxim of attempted murder on live television and breaks the degenerate’s jaw with a cybernetic right hook?

He doesn’t need to hear his crew’s whoops behind him or feel the warm glow of satisfaction to know he has fulfilled his oath.)

[britishassistant]

Streamer Go To Bed Challenge (Impossible)

Somewhere, in a darkened closet in a luxurious compound on a corporate space station, a teenage human checks again that her VPN is running smoothly.

It is, so she turns back to the tablet she secretly hides from the rest of her family. When it was originally gifted to her, there were parental locks on what sites she could visit and it sent notifications to her father and older siblings if she was on it past the recommended usage time.

Thank all the gods of Agathos that one of the things her mother made sure to teach her was how to factory reset devices like these.

Cautiously, hesitantly, with one ear straining for any sound that could mean someone is looking for her, the young lady navigates to the streaming site she does not have saved. She types her log-in information, and the site welcomes User R@mp1on50 and lets her know that her favorite streamer is currently live.

Considering said streamer had also been live when she briefly checked before getting ready this morning and does not seem to have stopped all day, she winces.

On the screen, streamer XxX_H@nNYuu67_xXx is moving around, re-writing things from that battered notebook onto fresh scraps of paper, pinning those papers to a huge whiteboard, writing annotations around them with a marker, and gesticulating while she—no, the young lady scolds herself, they, Yuu is a they now—talk mutely to their audience, presumably explaining their latest theory or answering a question from chat.

As she watches the teenage human in silence, the girl waits with one headphone in for a particular notification to pop up before she too joins the stream.

“—and if you’re joining us with the raid, welcome, and please see the pinned message for a link to the donation page for FreeCiceroPrime,” Yuu’s reciting. They grin at the screen, face worn. “Trust me when I say the reclamation forces down there are doing the Triads’ work, but they desperately need your help to afford supplies and weapons so they can contain the Infestation once and for all. Honestly, without those guys Epel would be missing an arm right now, so please, send ‘em some notes.”

The girl copies the link to her clipboard, and then makes sure she makes the more important donation from her savings account first.

Yuu glances at chat as the alert sounds. “Wh—welcome back Rampion, and thank you, again, for the extremely generous donation. I won’t say that we don’t need the notes, because we do, but make sure not to bankrupt yourself for us, all right? The corpos and loan sharks will eat you alive if you let them.”

R@mp1on50: It’s no trouble, really! The work you do is so important, the least I can do is support you!

corposeatmyA22: simp

Tsunotaro1: Greetings @R@mp1on50. I hope the evening finds you well.

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: hey rampion im a cute nematoan lookin for a sugar daddy dm me pls???

R@mp1on50: I’m doing okay! How did it go on Cicero Prime? Any new leads?

The streamer sighs in a way that makes the young lady’s chest ache with nostalgia, rolling their head on their neck. There’s a bandage on their forearm where one sleeve is looks…not quite torn so much as dissolved?

“Unfortunately, Cicero Prime was another dead end. Great people on-world, but none of them had ever heard of the chips before, and had no clue about how they could be being manufactured, let alone why. And the Dathu aren’t exactly inclined to talk.” A sardonic look crosses their face as another message catches their eye. “No, I don’t want to visit your moon to interview some Varg, ComeIntoMyParlor. I don’t care if you say they’re tied up or that they’re friendly, contrary to popular belief, I don’t want to actively seek out elements of Cacophony.”

TAITOFFrEaK: doubt

jozzaniplir: doubt

corposeatmyA22: doubt

IWannaBeLive!: doubt

B3CUMCR4B: doubt

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: doubt

I<3Neige: doubt

NOTChucklesTheClown: doubt

EternalSerenity69: doubt

CutePinkO0ze: doubt

justSUMgreeble: doubt

*~cay~cay~*: you dont have the best track record yuu-yuu just sayin~<3

m00m00fields: doubt

ComeIntoMyParlor: :,(

“You guys are the worst,” Yuu says with a fond tone and fonder middle finger.

But then they sit down heavily on the couch in the Ramshackle’s bridge, one hand scrubbing at the back of their head. “It’s just. This stuff, it doesn’t fit in with the M.O.s of any of the four tones of Cacophony. Not with Entropy, Instinct, Motley or Progress. If it were one of them, I’d expect to see that those affected by the chips would just become you know, corrupted by only that one tone, but they haven’t. And while yes, theoretically, it could be four individuals of each tone working together, practically it’d be a logistical nightmare—they’re called tones of Discordance for a reason, chat—and we would have found at least some evidence of each individual’s involvement or location by now. Cacophony isn’t usually subtle like this.”

Their head tilts back against the couch, hands pressing into their eyes. “So, back to square one. If the Cacophony Chips aren’t produced by actual agents of Discord, who’s making them and why? Maybe we should focus on the distributors again…it’s…just…”

There’s a long silence as Yuu’s hands drop down into their lap. The sound of chat notifications has their head turning to the screen.

PowerCondorROX!!: What you thinking HanYuu?

*~cay~cay~*: yuu-yuu? you okay?

“M fine,” Yuu mumbles, blinking slowly. “I just…need to think it through…need to…”

They trail off as their eyes slide shut. Two minutes pass. Five.

Yuu doesn’t move.

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: Are they asleep?

I<3Neige: yuu

IWannaBeLive!: yuu?

EternalSerenity69: HanYuu

TAITOFFrEaK: yuu

righteouscavalonsquire: yuu

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: awww id let you sleep next to me any day <3 dm me sweetie <3

*vilsdivineheels*: hanyuu

R@mp1on50: Yuu?

CutePinkO0ze: yuu?

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: Hanyuu

jozzaniplir: wakey wakey streamer!

*~cay~cay~*: yuu-yuu??

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: guys i think they died

corposeatmyA22: hanyuu

PowerCondorROX!!: HanYuu??

s@vnn@cl@wf@n8061: yuu

B3CUMCR4B: Hannyuu’s cute sleeping face…10/10, praise Karkosa for this blessing

D1n0byte: just arrived why is streamer just sitting there not moving??

righteouscavalonsquire: remove yourself from this stream immediately cult freak

NOTChucklesTheClown: yuu?

DonSketticks123: Quasimodo predicted this

*vilsdivineheels*: whomst??

gRIND4lYFE: hanyuu

ShriegellaMarryMe: yuu?

Tsunotaro1: Child of Man, you have fallen asleep. Rouse yourself and go to bed.

On the one hand, the young lady usually trusts and agrees with Tsunotaro–they’re the other big donor to Yuu’s streams, and while their comments are usually slightly naif, they have made it clear that they rival her for wanting to support Yuu in their endeavors. But on the other…

She bites her lip. And then she leans forward and types.

R@mp1on50: I mean, we could let them sleep? They’ve been working really hard lately…

m00m00fields: ye, but it’s kinda weird that we’re just watching them sleep??

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: not that kinda channel guy but respect the hustle

justSUMgreeble: yeah theyd fosho freak out if they knew

TAITOFFrEaK: lol watch them wake up with this

A donation alert sounds.

Yuu doesn’t stir.

There’s a flurry of pings and funny noises as the rest of the chat joins in, trying to see if any of the donation or subscription alerts will wake them up.

She takes on the opportunity to add another thousand notes. She knows Yuu doesn’t like Rampion giving too heavily, but they look so tired! What if they’re not eating properly, or something’s wrong with the Ramshackle’s systems? Asahiko was grumbling about how expensive repair work is nowadays, so who knows how bad prices must be for Yuu and their friends?

As nothing continues to work and Yuu stays silent and still in their admittedly uncomfortable-looking position, more and more people leave the stream with their own well-wishes of goodnight, good morning, or that HanYuu should wake up and go to bed.

It’s just as the teenage girl is privately resolving to do the same after donating to the charity Yuu recommended that the silence on stream is broken by the voice of one of Yuu’s crewmates.

“Yuu? What are you doing up so…” Epel’s volume drops as he rounds the sofa, one arm in a sling. “Ah, they’re asleep.”

I<3Neige: It’s Epel!! Hi Epel!!

righteouscavalonsquire: Disciple Felmier, we require your assistance. HanYuu has fallen asleep and cannot end the stream. We need you to do so, lest they fall victim to the filth taking residence on the Hypergrid.

TAITOFFrEaK: including you lol

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: nice glass house ya got there buddy, be a shame if something happened to it…

Epel glances around, not noticing the messages chat is directing to him nor the still recording camera. He tilts his head to read some of the new additions to the whiteboard, before his attention is captured by something at the base of the sofa. He kneels down and reaches out towards Yuu’s legs.

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: oh MY

righteouscavalonsquire: Get your mind out of the gutter, degenerate. He’s just removing their shoes.

“You’re not,” Epel grunts under his breath as he struggles with the task one-handed, “Meant-t’ sleep in these-ergh-didn’t yer mama ever tell you no shoes on the sofa?”

The young lady has to blink back tears all of a sudden.

He sets the shoes beside the couch and lifts Yuu’s legs up onto it, trying to arrange them comfortably. After a moment’s consideration, the Pakku leans over them, cupping their head and shoulders gently as he guides them into lying down fully. The positioning makes them look like the leads in a romance novel, one crouched tenderly over the other.

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: OH MY

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: wait no your onto something this time

“There,” Epel’s voice sounds pleased, even if the camera can’t see his face. “Sweet dreams.”

He rises with a satisfied sigh, and leaves the room.

I<3Neige: Wait, Epel, we need you to end the stream!

justSUMgreeble: he’s already gone fam

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: good try though

righteouscavalonsquire: Well that was. Sweet, but disappointing.

She kind of agrees? With that sentiment? The young lady nibbles on her lower lip as she tries to parse what just happened, at a loss for what they can do now the only person who could affect this has gone.

Suddenly, a soft sound reaches her ear, like someone walking by on furred feet. When she peeks through the crack in her closet, no one’s in her apartments or blocking the light from the doorway outside, which means…

Jack pauses in the doorway to the bridge on-stream, head cocked and a cup of what’s presumably water in hand. Some of his magnificently fluffy white fur looks a little singed, but not too much worse for wear.

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: hey jack! look at the screen!

justSUMgreeble: yo, great to see you man

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: It’s Jack! He’ll hear us!

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: well, hello there ~<3

R@mp1on50: Hello Jack!

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: jack, end the stream!

The Laika quietly rounds the couch, and lets out a soft “huh” at the sight of Yuu sleeping there.

Jack’s ears twitch. He scratches one cheek and sets the cup of water down. He still doesn’t turn to see the screen chat is scrolling by on.

Then, in one smooth motion, he pulls off his sleeveless leather jacket and folds it so the zippers and silver buttons are on the inside. His muscles and fur ripple with the action.

justSUMgreeble: EY YO???

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: 👀👀👀

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: TRIADS HAVE MERCY

B3CUMCR4B: I’ve seen better…but Karkosa knows I’ve seen worse

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: AROOOOOOOO

Carefully, he lifts Yuu’s head and slides the jacket under it to act as a pillow. He gently smooths some of their hair out, freeing it from being crushed under their head.

Then, he stands up, takes his water, and leaves, tail swishing gently behind him.

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: wait no jack come back

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: rip stream ending guess were still goin guys

TAITOFFrEaK: foiled by thirst lolol

DonSketticks123: Quasimodo predicted this

B3CUMCR4B: who the fuck is quasimodo

DonSketticks123: My personal soothsayer

TAITOFFrEaK: ???

It takes a few helpless blinks before she’s able to focus again properly.

Again, that was very, very sweet, but. Not exactly conducive to ensuring the stream ends and Yuu doesn’t have strangers ogling them as they sleep?

A faint golden glow she greatly dislikes appears in the background, and she has to bite back a groan.

She’ll take anybody ending the stream at this point, but did it really have to be him???

Ace Trappola strides into the bridge like he owns the place, humming something. He slows to a stop at the sight of the whiteboard, letting out a whistle.

“And the wall of crazy gets even bigger.” Ace mutters. “When will it end?”

R@mp1on50: Maybe when YOU stop being SUCH A JERK!

IWannaBeLive!: Whoa, easy Rampion

R@mp1on50: He is! He’s so mean to everyone! If he doesn’t have anything nice to say, he shouldn’t say anything!

justSUMgreeble: dude’s not that bad

I<3Neige: a bit rough around the edges maybe?

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: Ace please ignore them and end stream!!

corposeatmyA22: nah he’s the funniest one on this ship

R@mp1on50: He is NOT. How dare you insult Ortho like this

He leans against the back of the couch, only to startle when he glances down and realizes Yuu is there. Like the inattentive jerkwad he is.

He chuckles as he rounds to where Yuu is sleeping, a smirk playing on his face. The young lady bristles the longer he stands there, staring at them.

R@mp1on50: Don’t you dare do anything to Yuu!

With a few quiet clicks of buckles and zippers, Ace detaches the jacket portion of his jumpsuit.

Slowly, hesitantly, he kneels down and tucks it in over Yuu’s shoulders and upper half. Then, just as gently, the Solari tucks some of the bangs that have slipped into their face behind one of their ears. His fingers linger for an unnecessarily long time.

There’s a bright beep! and Ace’s softly glowing form vanishes entirely. The only proof he was there a scarlet racing jacket over Yuu and rapidly retreating footsteps.

justSUMgreeble: did

justSUMgreeble: did bro just time teleport to avoid having feelings???

I<3Neige: Oh my Triads!!

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: awwww <3

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: down bad if i’ve ever seen it

corposeatmyA22: ngl thats the cutest fucking thing ive ever seen

It isn’t she fumes to herself. Yuu deserves so much better than some flighty jerk who’s allergic to commitment!

They deserve someone compassionate and kind and funny and devoted and—

As if to spite her description, a clipped whirring lockstep heralds the arrival of Sebek Zigvolt on the bridge. He’s carrying dirty dishes with a yawn, bypassing Yuu entirely as he heads for the kitchen quarters. A square of gauze is taped to his cheek.

corposeatmyA22: oh look its enforcer buzzkill

righteouscavalonsquire: Enforcer Zigvolt is an honorable man.

I<3Neige: He’s not *that* bad

TAITOFFrEaK: *all the time

Tsunotaro1: Good evening Sebek. I was pleased when the Child of Man reported that you were relatively unscathed by your excursion down to Cicero Prime. It is a dangerous world and you and your comrades state does you credit. Lilia conveys his regards, as does Silver.

corposeatmyA22: no hes just terrible for most of it

corposeatmyA22: tsunotaro how the hell did you post all that before my one sentence

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: that is an entire novel. theres punctuation and everything

Tsunotaro1: @corposeatmyA22 @P3gM3Fr0gg3r I have developed my skills at typing.

Tsunotaro1: : )

justSUMgreeble: i cant even tell if ur clownin on them or not so ykw good job tsunotaro

He doesn’t even seem to notice Yuu, much less chat, until he comes back into the bridge and glances over to the couch. He gradually slows to a stop, staring silently for a few moments.

Sebek looks around, as if checking for bystanders and somehow completely missing the stream with at least thirty people watching and commenting on his every move.

He unbuttons his coat, shrugs it carefully off past his cybernetics, and lays it over Yuu’s lower half. Like an old fashioned gentleman in that Gaterton show Leota loves to watch, even if Enji says it’s nothing but “historically inaccurate filth”.

Tsunotaro1: Sebek, you have comported yourself as an enforcer should, and I am proud of your conduct. Now please end the stream so the Child of Man may rest undisturbed.

Sebek reaches out, and—!

Clicks off the nearby lamp. The Raizo then promptly turns and power-walks out of the room, green ears shading into a darker hue in the light of the doorway as he makes his escape.

B3CUMCR4B: LMFAO

corposeatmyA22: enforcer buzzkill follows no commands lololol

righteouscavalonsquire: He didn’t know! He didn’t see the chat!

Tsunotaro1: Sebek, please know that I am not cross with you.

Tsunotaro1: Merely disappointed.

justSUMgreeble: BRO GOT THE MOM LINE FROM *TSUNOTARO* MAN

TAITOFFrEaK: im fucjking cryinh rn lmao

Yes, she reflects. He’s probably not a good match for Yuu either…but why the heck is she thinking about matches?! Surely she isn’t this sleep deprived?

She wants to make sure the stream ends safely, but maybe she should get to bed too…

There’s the sound of paws padding softly but swiftly against a hard floor.

“Minion?” Comes the sleepy whine, the glow of bright blue flames giving some light to the dark scene. “S bed time. Why aren’t you in bed?”

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: grimmy-kins!! <3 <3 <3

IWannaBeLive!: I WANT TO SEE MY LITTOL BOY

TAITOFFrEaK: guys everythings okay now grims gonna save us

The odd creature known as Grim stares up at Yuu, one blue flaming ear flicking in irritation. “Sleeping here? Fgnah, what am I gonna do with you…”

The strange creature scrambles up onto the couch, tri-pronged tail waving behind him. Grim circles three times, before settling down just under Yuu’s chin, atop Ace’s jacket.

“Nuh-nigh’ minion,” He mumbles, as his bright eyes slide shut. Wheezy snores soon fill the air.

TAITOFFrEaK: okay so that solved nothing

TAITOFFrEaK: but it is adorable

IWannaBeLive!: We are BLESSED tonight

I<3Neige: Am I the only one who finds Grim kinda creepy?

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: yes

justSUMgreeble: yes

IWannaBeLive!: yes

B3CUMCR4B: no

corposeatmyA22: yes

TAITOFFrEaK: yes

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: yes

righteouscavalonsquire: yes

It does make for an admittedly sweet sight, the teenage girl admits to herself.

Watching them sleep peacefully, she half-daydreams that maybe the two of them aren’t over a galaxy away. Maybe, just maybe, they’re in her quarters, or, no, maybe she’s there, on the Ramshackle. Safe and sound and happy. No worries except if Yuu had gotten to bed on time, or if they had enough rations for breakfast the next morning, or what bounty the crew needed to go after next…

She’s startled out of her musings by soft “What are you guys doing here?” floating over the headphone she has in one ear.

Deuce is standing over Yuu and Grim, head tilted to the side. There’s a bandage wound around the base of his fin which strands of his hair keep staticking to.

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: eyyy deucey!

IWannaBeLive!: Hi Deuce! Please end the stream for us!

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: hey cutie <3

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: will deuce succeed where everyone else has failed?

IWannaBeLive!: I wanna believe he will!

TAITOFFrEaK: dont hold ur breath

Like everyone else, Deuce somehow remains completely oblivious to the chat begging for his attention. Instead, he rolls up his sleeves and hunches over the couch, bending at the knees.

“Up we go,” The Jozza murmurs, hoisting Yuu and Grim into his arms. “Let’s get you guys to bed.”

The human lets out a small murmur and nuzzles into his shoulder, turning their face away from the outside world. Grim mutters something about tuna and flops over on Yuu’s belly, drooling slightly.

Deuce smiles down at them. A sweet, soft smile that has no business looking as heartwarming as it does on a mouth filled with shark-like teeth.

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: i need to get a man like this pregnant

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: ?!?!?

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: dude. chill out.

He carefully steps around the couch and carries Yuu and Grim off into the depth of the ship, presumably to their private room.

The main bridge of the Ramshackle is now dark and silent on the stream.

B3CUMCR4B: Well this sucks.

R@mp1on50: At least Yuu got to bed! That’s good, right?

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: ye but now we’re just staring at an empty room

righteouscavalonsquire: You can leave at any time.

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: not before you do, empire creep

righteouscavalonsquire: saurian claw-licker

B3CUMCR4B: bye

IWannaBeLive!: Hey guys, let’s not bring politics OR species into this okay?

corposeatmyA22: fight fight fight!!!

R@mp1on50: Don’t! Yuu might get banned again!

Tsunotaro1: @§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever and @righteouscavalonsquire you will both cease and apologize. Immediately.

The young lady suddenly feels an intense squeezing on her mind, the sensation of ozone and static and iron on her tongue—!

Then, all of a sudden, the pressure is gone and she can gasp for breath.

righteouscavalonsquire: im sorry

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: im sorry

TAITOFFrEaK: holy shit

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: wtf

IWannaBeLive!: ?!?

I<3Neige: you guys felt that too right it’s not just me??

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: even i felt that

corposeatmyA22: what in the harmony was that?!

“…could swear that came from…ah-ha!”

A pale blue face with bright golden eyes pops up on the stream. “Hi, Yuu’s chat! How come they’re live-streaming the bridge?”

Tsunotaro1: Greetings Ortho Shroud.

R@mp1on50: Hi Ortho! Yuu fell asleep while streaming and we couldn’t wake them up!

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: streamer fell asleep and forgot to end stream

TAITOFFrEaK: we’ve kinda been stuck here man it’s dire

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: yuu got taken to bed already!

The anitron’s brow furrows realistically as he reads. “They fell asleep on stream, huh… well, it’s good someone got them to bed now. I’ll end the stream and they can sort everything out tomorrow, how does that sound?”

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: save us ortho

M1ll1c3ntByst4nd3r: thatd be great thank you!

R@mp1on50: Thank you, Ortho!

P3gM3Fr0gg3r: free us from the stream

righteouscavalonsquire: Please do so Lord Shroud.

IWannaBeLive!: We’d all appreciate it Ortho

h0ts1ngl3inur4r34: thanks cutie <3

§@urvo{Dyn@§ty5ever: you’re all right ortho

I<3Neige: Thanks and have a great night!

justSUMgreeble: thanks man, your the mvp

Tsunotaro1: You have my gratitude, young Shroud.

TAITOFFrEaK: thanks dude, night everybody

DonSketticks123: Quasimodo predicted this

Tsunotaro1: Why are you still here?

“Well, good night everyone!” Ortho waves a hand. “See you next stream!”

The feed finally goes black.

Megami Gracey removes her headphone and lets her head gently thunk back against the wall of the closet.

Thank all the gods of Agathos for Ortho, really. She was beginning to wonder strange things with how long the stream had been going on.

Like if Yuu’s friends and crew were all in love with them or—

No. No! She’s not going to entertain silly thoughts like that, Megami decides with a decisive nod. It’ll do nothing but keep her up all night, and she has another early start tomorrow.

Carefully, she deletes the history on her device and then empties the deletion folder. She powers it off, pries the square of loose carpeting back up, and hides the tablet and its headphones back under there.

She slips out of her only safe place and the youngest and most beloved daughter of the Gracey Conglomerate heads back into quarters that feel more like a prison cell than home.

[britishassistant]

Guys im having too much fun with Space Opera streamer!Yuu send help

[britishassistant]

Crew of the broken down hunk of shit Ramshackle

Twst x Neon Odyssey crossover

Ace Trappola: Solari Echo Scoundrel

An “up and coming” starfighter racer who’s down on his luck, Ace may have pissed off a few bozos by reneging on his deal to fix a race and flying off with the collective winnings. With most of the money gone and more than a few angry mobsters closing in, Ace has managed to escape his just desserts so far by abusing the temporal displacement watch he’s “borrowing” from his older brother, but how long until his time—and luck—run out?

Solari: As a Solari, Ace has the lithe build, glowing skin, hair, and pointed ears typical of his species. His crewmates can use him as a low-level light source in dark spaces. If badly injured or exhausted, his light and colors will dim, but will never extinguish completely. His hair is a gradient of campfire reds to burnished oranges and gingers, off-set by gold toned skin and bright red eyes. Usually wears fire-proof racing jumpsuits with the upper half unzipped and sleeves folded up around his forearms or tied around his waist. Pairs these with form-fitting t-shirts, chunky neon-lined sneakers that cost far more than sneakers should and racing goggles that he wears on his forehead or around his neck more than he does over his eyes.

Echo Scoundrel: Ace has a large watch that he wears on his left wrist, which has a rounded digital screen that extends a good inch off of his wrist. While it does also tell the time, Ace can use the buttons on the side of the device to fast-forward and rewind his own personal time, allowing him to teleport away from danger or into range where he can take an enemy by surprise. He utilizes this and his dual laser pistols to great effect when it comes time to take out enemies. Ace’s Solari heritage also provides him with an ability that lets him revive himself if he is ever knocked down for the count—a handy failsafe if anyone does manage to get the drop on him.

Starfighter: Joker Snatch. A professional racing fighter, small, sleek, and fast. It’s aerodynamic, durable, and has excellent maneuverability, though its weapons systems pack less of a punch. Ace’s baby, most of the funds he earns are diverted into maintaining its heart-red paint job and mechanics.

Yuu: Stardust Human Holo-Star Icon

A streamer who’s struggling to get viewers, Yuu employs their hologram to try to enhance their performances as much as they can before their streams get terminated for nonsensical reasons. With few platforms (and fewer usernames) left to them, streamer XxX_H@nNYuu67_xXx is left wishing that they could film something to get them the support they need…

Stardust Human: As a member of one of the most common species in the galaxy, Yuu’s most notable for being slighter than average for their age range and having lots of freckles on their face and body. They have short, dark hair with long bangs that covers most of their face. Unlike their hairdo, Yuu’s fashion is much more professional, lots of power-shoulder high-collared shirts and turtlenecks paired with waistcoats and wide-legged slacks or skirt/pant combos. Has never shown their collarbones on or off stream, making it a subject of fascination for their fans, much to their concern. Wears their binder whenever they can get away with it.

Holo-Star Icon: As a Holo-Star Icon, Yuu has the ability to channel the cosmic Harmony of the galaxy through their performances while live-streaming. Any donations their viewers make can be channeled into healing or buffing their friends or using higher-powered attacks against their foes. Yuu can also create a pale pink hologram version of themself anywhere on a battlefield which can be used as a conduit/amplifier for their chosen effects. They enhance their performances with a handheld microphone that has neon pink and blue highlights (they also have a laser knife if any enemies get too close for comfort).

Starfighter: The Supervisor. Yuu and Grim share this small starfighter, as Grim is instinctually an excellent pilot but has no opposable thumbs while Yuu possesses the latter, but has never flown any vehicle themself before. A jack of all trades, this vessel is well-rounded and can fill in any gaps needed by the rest of the fleet. It also comes with several built-in cameras that Yuu can hook up their streams to for clearer view of the battles.

Deuce Spade: Jozza Scrapper Juggernaut

Leaving the warm waters of his homeworld and a delinquent past behind him, Deuce is hoping to join a force for justice so he can make a positive change in the galaxy for once! He just hopes that his temper doesn’t get him into trouble first…or his habit of compulsively making contraptions out of anything left unattended near him…

Jozza: Deuce is a member of the aquatic Jozza, who possess shark-like features with fin-like crests on their heads. His skin is a vivid grey-blue over most of his body, with pale grey coloring on his throat starting near his gills and continuing down the front of his torso and abdomen. He has dark blue hair which he tries to part neatly around his fin, sharp teeth, and blue-green eyes. Deuce tries to dress for the job he wants, but his nice-but-durable pants, suspenders, and button-ups usually end up with oil or grease stains. Will often roll up/unbutton the latter, revealing his white undershirt beneath. He wears a chain at his waist with several small mechanical doodads attached that he fiddles with when distracted.

Scrapper Juggernaut: Much to his chagrin, Deuce is often at his most powerful when he lets his temper overtake him and decides to start breaking heads. However, when the red haze descends, his instinct isn’t just to break—he is capable of building himself weapons out of the most innocuous of scraps or modifying items he picks up for deadly effect. Capable of constructing anything from guns to flails, the constructs he builds on the fly can be slightly more fragile and prone to breakage if overused. But the only limit to how many times he can rebuild and reuse the materials they’re made of is their structural integrity. And, if all else fails, his experience in street brawling and powerful jaws ensure he is never without a means to defend himself.

Starfighter: Bet The Limit. A medium-sized fighter which should not fly as well as it does. A retired model that was originally designed to ram straight through enemy shields, Deuce has upgraded the engine to give it more maneuverability, reinforced the rounded chassis’ durability, and embedded several hard-hitting weapons systems, including rockets and a chain harpoon. One of the few fighters which can operate underwater as well as in space.

Grim: Chimera

So you’ve crossed paths with the Great Boss Grim, have ya? Well count yourself lucky, because you’ve just met the greatest legend in the stars!! Or well, maybe not yet, but he knows he’s destined for greatness!! Come and be his minion and he’ll let you share in that greatness!! Fgnah-ha, isn’t he the best?!

Chimera: Grim’s origins are as mysterious as he is, but one thing is clear—his makeup appears to be a merging of traits from several different creatures found across the galaxy, sentient and non-sentient alike. He’s most commonly mistaken for a Bitling by those who haven’t met Bitlings before. Though he shares cartoony-animal proportions with them, Grim is smaller, has blue fire burning in his ears and can spit bursts of it from his mouth, and does not produce tokens like Bitlings do. Bitlings also do not try to eat Cacophony Chips and go into a violent fugue state if denied them like Grim does.

Starfighter: The Supervisor. Yuu and Grim share this small starfighter, as Grim is instinctually an excellent pilot but has no opposable thumbs while Yuu possesses the latter, but has never flown any vehicle themself before. A jack of all trades, this vessel is well-rounded and can fill in any gaps needed by the rest of the fleet. It also comes with several built-in cameras that Yuu can hook up their streams to for clearer view of the battles.

Jack Howl: Laika Splicer Primalist

Jack is one of the youngest recruits for a prominent Hyperdrive team, an increasingly popular sport where wits and brawn are both essential for victory. Despite his initial excitement, the discovery that his team wants to cheat their way to victory, and expects him to utilize his skills to do the same, has him deeply conflicted…

Laika: Jack is part of the Tracker lineage of the Laika, resembling an anthropomorphic white Alsatian. This lineage means that he excels in anything involving tracking or similar tasks due to his keen senses. He has thick white fur, golden eyes, and is on the larger side for his species. Some of the fur on his head has been styled into a spiky mullet. He follows a strict training regimen to ensure he stays in shape for his team, bulking him up considerably. Because of this (and the thick fur), he has a taste for sleeveless leather jackets and flared pants that allow for ease of movement while keeping cool. He also has a love of space cowboy boots, because he thinks they look awesome. Jack wears a leather cord around his neck with the teeth of various non-sapient canid/vaguely-canid-related species knotted into it.

Splicer Primalist: Jack has always had a fascination with wolves and wolf-adjacent animals ever since he was a child, so he focused his studies on learning to understand them, their genetics, and how he could harness their powers. When the need calls for it, he can utilize the teeth on his necklace to extract the essence of the creature it came from and transform himself into one. This transformation can either be limited to certain areas of his body, to enhance certain skills or attacks on the fly, or can be a complete change into the creature he chooses, which allows him to communicate with animals and earn their allegiances to help him out in battle. He also carries a light laser pistol his mother insisted he take before he went off-world, though he will often forgo that for punching or biting an enemy if the need arises.

Starfighter: Unleash The Beast. A medium-sized fighter that bears some resemblance to a wolf’s head. Fast and agile, this fighter excels at herding and harrying enemy ships, darting in to pepper them with blasts before zipping away to escape return fire. Jack can also channel his primalist energies into the ship, giving it temporary boosts of animalistic power when the need arises.

Epel Felmier: Pakku Symmetric Disciple

Epel may still be finding his space legs, but he has one dream and one dream only since he left his snowy, dozy home planet—to make a name for himself as the most badass, most rugged bounty hunter this galaxy has ever seen!! Too many folks see his purple petals and slight build and assume he’s a pushover, but his feet, fists, and his gramma’s staff will show ‘em all different!!

Pakku: Epel is of the Butterwort sub-species of Pakku, meaning that he is much hardier and more adaptable to colder temperatures when compared to his desert-residing brethren. He is slim and shorter than most of his crewmates. His leaves form beautiful rosette patterns on his skin, he always smells pleasantly floral, and his purple petals make up what most species would consider a chin-length hairstyle. He is also always slightly sticky to the touch, and pests will often get trapped in his secretions and nourish him. He favors short sleeveless robes paired with ripped synthetic leggings, reinforced, spiked arm guards, and knee-high, steel-toed combat boots that also protect his shins. He is very proud of his combat boots, and spends a lot of time maintaining them and the staff he inherited from his grandmother.

Symmetric Disciple: Epel was trained by his grandmother to be able to fight in tune with the Harmony of the galaxy, though he struggles sometimes with the “balance” thing she always went on about. He is able to channel both the vital and the somber sides of this cosmic force, empowering his own punches, and kicks or draining the life from his enemies. He is also a master with his gramma’s staff, either using it on its own to give himself extra reach or channeling energy into it to create sword-like beams on either end which can be separated into two weapons by twisting the middle apart. By crew vote, he is not allowed to have a gun due to his abysmal aim. In a pinch, Epel can also inflict caustic damage on his foes by exposing them to an excess of the digestive secretions his leaves naturally produce.

Starfighter: Sleep Kiss. A medium-sized fighter designed to look as though it is made of reflective glass. While probably the slowest of the fleet with weak standard firepower, it more than makes up for it with its incredible durability and powerful (if expensive to replace) rockets that can ensure it takes any hits and keeps coming. The imitator-glass chassis is also capable of reflecting light or laser beams, either blinding enemy fighters or sending their own attacks back at them.

Ortho Shroud: Anitron Hypercoder Gridrunner

On all official documents, Ortho is the youngest son of the rich and reclusive Shroud family, aetheron vassals of the Cavalon Empire. People are often surprised when a robot shows up to their store instead, navigating the Hypergrid to collect games, gadgets and merchandise for his older brother. Though he does see other users and wonder what adventuring like them would be like…

Anitron: A construct built in memory of one long departed, Ortho has pale blue synthetic skin, uncannily lifelike golden eyes and a facsimile of the cyan flames his family possesses in place of hair. The rest of his chassis is white and silver and ball-jointed to allow for fine motor functions, with a clear viewing port over where a heart would be with his Hyperspark visible inside. He has been built to try and mimic the density and durability his aetheron family possesses, though unlike them he has inbuilt lasers and can fly with the anti-gravity thrusters he has in place of feet. His model also has an increased affinity for connecting with/controlling large systems of data both on and off the Hypergrid. He does not need to wear clothes, but his crew have bought him a number of oversized diaphanous puffer coats and vests because he likes how they sparkle and shine.

Hypercoder Gridrunner: Ortho’s expertise with the world of code and data in the Hypergrid means that he possesses the abilities to translate his digital programming to affect physical reality. Utilizing the digipad his big brother designed for him, Ortho can not only summon attacks, items, and creatures from the Hypergrid into the real world, he can copy/paste any missed attacks of his allies to ensure they are redirected to hit the proper target. Ortho can even hack into enemies, even if they are not constructs or digital beings themselves, which can have a range of effects from sabotaging their attacks and abilities to removing any resistances or buffs they have. If all else fails, his older brother did install extremely high powered lasers into his chassis, though he does need to be careful that he doesn’t catch any of his crewmates in the blasts.

Starfighter: The Cerberus. A small empire-grade fighter with high maneuverability and offensive capabilities. The inbuilt lasers and wide-range targeting system of this aether-powered saucer are designed to be lethally devastating, allowing Ortho the bandwidth to either sabotage the controls of enemy fighters or destroy them in one blast. However, it’s low speed and durability means it risks being quickly taken out if enemies manage to score a hit.

Sebek Zigvolt: Half-Raizo Cyberguard Enforcer

Newest addition to the royal enforcers for Prince Malleus Draconia, Sebek is determined to prove himself and make up for his father’s inferior genetics by any means necessary! For him, that means enhancing himself with cybernetic upgrades, destroying his liege’s enemies with his lightning-bolstered baton and arm turrets, and shouting. Lots of shouting.

Raizo: Sebek’s green coloring is unusual for a Raizo, but not totally unheard of (though he will insist he’s “teal blue”). One of the taller members of the crew, he keeps his mint green hair gelled back professionally and his sharper-than-average teeth and oni-like horns polished to a gleaming sheen. The same can be said for the chrome cybernetic enhancements built into his legs, torso, and arm, ensuring they are spic and span, worthy of an enforcer of Malleus Draconia! He is rarely, if ever, out of his official guard uniform, a black leather military-style coat and trousers with glowing neon green and silver linings, specially tailored to fit on and around his more metallic parts. He possesses several tattoos honoring his species’ innate connection to the power of storms, with engravings on his enhancements to continue the inked designs on his skin.

Cyberguard Enforcer: Sebek follows a strict code as an Enforcer to protect and serve Prince Malleus Draconia and his interests, an oath which he had been following in spirit long before the actual words were spoken in flesh. His dedication to this code allows him to imbue extra power into his cybernetic enhancements, giving him boosts of strength, durability, and firepower when facing down those he has deemed enemies of his liege. The gun turrets in his mechanical arm allow him to smite his lord’s foes from great distances, as well as administer aid to allies to his cause. His Raizo heritage also allows him to conduct thunder and lightening into his baton blows and shots, adding a nasty surprise for anyone on the receiving end.

Starfighter: Living Bolt. A medium sized streamlined fighter that is worse for wear. One of the fastest among the crew with excellent firepower, but Sebek’s habit of recklessly charging into the middle of dogfights means its durability and maneuverability are irreparably damaged. While it still flies and shoots as well as it did before, it has a nasty habit of jolting forward or even shooting without Sebek’s input.

[britishassistant]

Question about Azul’s soulmate Au: What was the twins reaction to all of that? Did Jade recognize the injuries he caused?

Jade did recognize the injuries he caused!

That was actually part of the reason why he and Floyd were causing them—Azul’s soulmate had been going through quite a few injuries during the school year! Broken ribs, torn ankle ligaments, sand abrasions, oh my…

Someone so reckless needs to be taken in to hand and advised to stop or keep going depending on how annoying Azul’s been recently.

Nothing had come of any of the other contractees they’d mistreated so far, but these four?

Oh, Jade knows it has to be one of them.

[britishassistant]

I just ran across your different soulmates concepts and as an avid fan of getting weird with soulmate stuff they’re extremely cool! Yuu’s world and Twisted Wonderland having different ways to find soulmates is SO fun and can be SO messy and complicated (especially because, who would think that this part of How The World Works would just be different!) Extremely cool, every version, I love all of them. But for the Azul one in particular, mostly these have been Yuu PoV for understandable reasons, but as soon as I read the discovery scene I thought Azul’s experience of those few moments between setting the trap and slamming the door open must have been Something. Just the, one second you’re preparing to laugh at and then beat up some contract dodgers and then the next oh FUCK and also OW why did that hit so hard. Azul in that world has been having an experience in general!

Also, while I was having thoughts about what a cool concept this was, and different interesting kinds of soulmate indicators - the one where ink/writing on your skin (like from a pen) shows up on your soulmate’s and vice versa is always fun. And would probably be strange to only have half of, whether it was Yuu’s world’s version or Twisted Wonderland’s! …The “can’t see in color until you meet your soulmate/only see in color around your soulmate/are missing a color that is your soulmate’s/general messing with vision” type would also be a weird one, thinking about it xD 0.0 That was fun in the Leona one, the situation where for one side “figuring out who your soulmate is” is a very obvious instant thing and for the other side it is Not Immediately Obvious 💖😂

Aaah, thank you so much!!

And yes, that is EXACTLY what happened to Azul, leaning against the door, grinch-like smile on his face, and then WHAM!! He’s on the ground making an undignified gurgling sound while Jade goes “oh my” and smiles and Floyd pokes him to ask if he’s dead yet.

I do have the “only see in color” one planned for future options, as well as “your full name appears on your soulmate” which will be fun to play with, especially if Yuu meets someone who they don’t know the true name of for a long time…

I do also have the writing on skin one planned—with someone who’s going to draw dicks all over Yuu’s arms.

Thank you so much again for reading and enjoying!!

[falling-stars-dont-go-far]

Fun tag game idea: say something that most of your followers wouldn’t actually know

I’ll start first: I am actually married. Irl. I have a husband. I know it’s surprising considering the Tumblr spouses, but my husband thinks it’s funny.

Open tags

[star-dew-chicken]

I have met satan-offical in real life and I’ve played the clarinet since I was 6

@stars-and-sharks @fangirlmenace

@pipatetka-be-cranking @iammentallystable16

@fortheloveofgrantaire

[amazingdylan]

i play the piano, guitar and i sing :D

and i am doing art and music for gcse

@tyrannosaurus021 @teamyuri @elliot-the-awesome @lyraisnotonfire @aliensatemysocks and open !!

[satan-offical]

I wasn't tagged but I'm gonna join in

I have a Level 1 qualification in Ballet and I have vasovagal syncope :P

Open tags cause I know too many people + forget people's names 😔

[shah4139-offical]

Thats like a fear of blood right

I can sing

I was in my school choir

@inkanddragons @inferno-the-skywing @inkanddragons @evilpineapple-offical @the-one-and-only-piper-offical @i-hate-gcse-english-lit-offical

[inferno-the-skywing]

I'm scared of heights, and scared of locking my door, and not locking my door.

[shreekofjoy]

I write exclusively with ink pens.

ALL of my writing is handwritten and then OCR'd into text

I used to sing before The Dark Times

[stormlightsnorter]

I have 2 moms (theyre GAY!) and am generally uninteresting

@burrbeast @1kit uh probably other people i forgot sorry im so sorry sorry sorry

[1kit]

I used to be in the Scouts, that's a thing folks don't know yeah?

@freakasaurus-rex @disappointedwaffles @sapphic-dice @nevadamerchant @vaeh2011

[nevadamerchant]

I like uhhh crocheting (:

@raish-ryeson-robinson-i @faceless-crowd @s7nnydrop-flower @h4zelnutwastaken

[h4zelnutwastaken]

I do game dev

@vaeh2011 @delunafazfox @alwaysoc @nebulabrigade @flyingsaucerpassenger @flawed-silken-child @skeletal-spire-man-aka-overfit

[nebulabrigade2006]

I've been sitting here for like 10+ minutes tryna think of something and the only thing that really comes to mind is probably the fact that we're technically related to Geoffrey Rush?

He's like, our grandfather's cousin or something, but we've never met him or anything

Probably not of much interested especially since I know he was accused of some not very cool things (not that we ever cared to pay much attention, since again we never interacted with him personally), but it's a fact about us that most people don't know 🤷

@calamity-collective @depressedquetzal @interstellar-espresso @thedeltavessel /nf

[thedeltavessel]

i have natural red hair irl and uhhhhhhhhh idk what else -luci

@thepantheonsarchive @lucs-madness

[lucs-madness]

im mildly allergic to chocolate but i eat it anyway bc no amount of vicious diarrhea will make nutella not worth it. it was only very recently that i learned that chocolate isnt supposed to be spicy

@handageddon @theblueshark @thatsillystarboy @floorgle

[theblueshark]

thanks for the tag!!

I have 8 nieces and nephews, 2 I’ve never met, 1 I only see on Halloween cause they trick or treat at my house.

The oldest two are 11 and 13 and the youngest is only a few months old

The way my family works is like a promotion system, so say you have a cousin who’s going to have a baby, the cousins of said cousin become aunts and uncles, the aunts and uncles become grandparents, and the nieces and nephews become cousins.

@spineless-lobster @coffin-dwelling-tramp @wizardshark

@meelonsquid @strange-nerd-boy @argentleif

@paste-pancakes @sarinalmk @i-m-verysad

@georgios-theshark @kiwi-green-tea and anyone else

[strange-nerd-boy]

Ty for the tag :D

I hate cheese like the taste and the texture and the smell are just weird and gross to me idk

@polyamoryfan9784 @kutie106 @totally-not-a-commie

@cosyfroggo @crispwormsoda @harbinger-of-silly

@friend-of-axolotls @kipper7 @stargazinghorror @theannoyingmosquitoinyourroom and anyone else who wants to :D

[cosyfroggo]

ty for the tag!!! :3

i ate rocks once when I was younger

@a-fucking-tornado @frooooooooogs + open tags!

[frooooooooogs]

you did WHAT.

uhh i really hate eating at restaurants it’s too public and loud and i don’t like ordering and i have a lot of texture issues with foods lol

@apple-temp @emdure @lunalikeswomen + anyone who wants to!

[apple-temp]

I have bullet casings on my bedside table

@aster-undercloak @soopsop @revived-crows @kittylaser @drizzles-in-paradise

[drizzles-in-paradise]

I went by the name Citrus for my entire eighth grade year and realized that I lowkey hated it a couple months in (hence why I started going by Acey when I began high school)

@catboy-tdick @moonsandloons @spacebnnui @itsjadie @oliver-thebiodegradable @darksilvershadows36 @figzandfangz @mythicandco @crttvv @nonhumaninallways (all /nf) + open tags!

[crttvv]

YAAYYY HIHI

ummmm umm.. not about me but about my pets.. ive had two cats and both of them are really big for cats?? like theyre just Large. not fat or anything just like.. big. idk !!!!

ummm open tags because idk who to tag yayy

[gayoctopus-helpnolongerneeded]

I’m OSHA certified

@hoisinblackcat @eatin-bread-n-cryin @xrollthedicex @what-da-doe-doin @phagechan @torrentialchaos @ineedmoreartofyuki @e11ie-bonez @stupid-deer @dekkadism @ursa-the-stranger @crttvv @kopic-con-k @fairyfencereri @krepx3 @ratbugs

[kopic-con-k]

Welll… I have a SECOND BLOG! And my Favourite animal isssss Greenland Shark!!

Open Tagsssssss

@dethuio11

[dethuio11]

ive done ballet for over 10 years, and im going to study to be a ballet teacher.

@inkflavoredbasil3 @magatamahairclips

[mary-lennox-1955]

I wasn't tagged but

I can't eat too much peanut butter otherwise i get diarrhea and throw up. And I am learning japanese so I can play more unlocalized Otome games, i can actually read almost all hiragana at a glance like english(i just don't know what most of it means lol)

@caffeinated-chocolate @misteria247 and other moots and people who want to play. Sorry, I'm very bad at removing usernames and which people are moots.

[caffeinated-chocolate]

ty for the tag!!!

hmm... i don't really know actually... i guess the fact that i naturally have a pretty high caffeine tolerance something a little unpredictable, especially given my username ˙𐃷˙

@artandbeauty71 @cr34mch33s3 @flying-fishess @ina-equinox @mary-lennox-1955 @magatamahairclips @mysomoto @notvlp @noodle-bro @orangewsunglasses + open tags!

[artandbeauty71]

thank youu <3

Something I very rarely talk about here is that i love learning languages! (at least when I'm in the mood for it lol)

I taught myself modern Greek when I was 12 - which helped me when I started learning ancient Greek as well - which is something I find really cool :)

As of now I'm fluent in Italian (native language so obv) and English (C2 level), I can read/understand most French and Spanish, some Greek and Portuguese, plus some general knowledge of German and Swedish

I've also tried getting into slavic languages bc I LOVE the culture but for some reason I cannot learn a thing 😭

But yeah haha

tagsss @leonardbirdstein @bramalamania @shakespeare-guy-anon @straywings @dor-mp3 @v4mp1rism @pinkofheart @spineless-lobster @send-me-to-the-exr @sencaeneus @badgirlphilologist @noctilionoidea @semi-sepultusviator @ghostskin + anyone else (moots consider yourself all tagged :'))

[radiant-sunlight-angel]

I have 15,000 edits on Wikipedia

@sillylo2 @philixophy @azura-lives @its-a-me-chaosthedragon @theronanlynchshow and whoever

[theronanlynchshow]

i tore my right hip abductor muscle doing track in 8th grade and then re-tore it during fall guard my sophomore year and it’s literally never been the same 😭 (it hurts when i drive for over 30 minutes at a time lmao) BUT on the fun side i can crack my hip really easily now and it makes horrible grating noises that can scare the shit outta people who don’t know the hip lore

all this in addition to my hyper flexibility and my back being legitimately Built Different (hahaha it’s an inward curve from scoliosis) makes me incredibly flexible in a deeply off-putting way and pretty freaking good at dance

tags!: @yourlocalbadgerscales @lady--hibiscus @sunchasingthestar @raeprise @sweetlittlelizbian @swanboyy @simonsays-begaydocrime

@chickencentaur @queenarsinoethepoisoner @lostcavernanchor @fictionalsimp09 @kutie106 @intoomanyfandomstolist & anyone else who wants to!

[simonsays-begaydocrime]

That's kinda fascinating actually, and very on brand for a guardist

I make my own pins for fandoms I'm in and there's almost always some sort of ink on my skin, either from making said pins or just straight up drawing on myself :)

@idontexist734 @drudg30n @8-aladdin-sane-8 @fizgabzi14 and anyone else

[idontexist734]

thankss for the tag <333

uhh lets see. did i mention to yall that im proficient in nunchucks

@adhd-nighmare @d7ath @acreatureinyourwalls @freshcarrotsfinally @jamesblackpotter @notmyfaultnotmyproblem @psyche-official @ratcalledmicah @rapunzelspan @sell-my-soul @thedamsolangelofan @the-grassy-hill @thatweirdnumber @where-re-they + open tags

[acreatureinyourwalls]

oh wow this is certainly interesting (thanks for the tag :D)

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuck i can't think

i've camped overnight (like in a tent) on 4 separate occasions and somehow survived them all

tags:

@bubblemintz567 @fluidlee @psyche-official @genderfluiddisaster + open tags

[genderfluiddisaster]

thanks for the tag :)

And ig my fact is that I've been attending the same performing arts school since I was 4.

@gardenofpebbless @psyche-official @fluidlee and open tags

[psyche-official]

gods thanks for the tag lol

third time!

i have like three water bottles i use on a regular basis

one i bring to school

one i bring to extracurriculars

and one lives in my room

open tags T-T

[theswedishcatlord1o1]

I have a sort of overbite.

I’ve always smiled with my bottom teeth hiding behind my top teeth and have been resting my jaw more backwards (most times)with my tongue between my teeth,

I can move it to the correct spot but I find it more uncomfortable and hard(+inconvenient to make sure it’s in the correct spot), so I’ve never tried fixing it.

Haven’t experienced any issues with it so yolo!

@thepunkysofthepunks @jaedyn-here +anyone else!(opentags)

[jaedyn-here]

nothings really interesting about me im lwk like a default character BUT

my irl friends know this, but i really like history/AP and enjoy the subject entirely, i find it fun and its generally one of the easiest subjects in my opinion. :] and yes, i do have a copy of el filibusterismo(the reign of greed) and noli me tangere(the social cancer/touch me not) though i'm only a few pages in and i hadn't finished it yet ;-;

absolutely NO pressure at all, reblog if you want : @y1f4 @askthesonnellin0s @stars-flesh-and-bone @muffinstuffins11 @theannoyingparasite @boredomgayartist @specified6 @jrw006 @nerilefou @yourlocalgummybear + any1 else i forgot and opentags :)

[askthesonnellin0s]

Im really not an interesting person at all, but uh..

All I can think of is I don't have a knuckle on my right pinkie.

Well, I do, but when I was young I once rested my chin on it cause I was watching shit on the DVD player, and then it moved my knuckle 😃 it's kinda cool, I suppose.

@oz4rtful @sleepy-k0i @igisarus @crayons-alt @queerchildwhoistrappped @wrenwise @rexdoorr @yuuuraaa @duskyumbra101 @ghost-bo0 @knucklesquared @xuziiiiixd @vinceyintown @nyxhunter-9010 @star-shootingz + open tags!!!

[yuuuraaa]

“ hm… i dont hide much from tumblr because i tell you all everything… first thing i think of is that i have 5 older siblings ”

@starrbatz @candoiella @shinette @wemmbies (yes bc y not) @orimuraa + open tags!!!

[starrbatz]

fuck uhmmmm i have a tortoise ? and axolotl

[makeitfast9052]

i once made a kinda shitty text editor for fun

... i still like it

@confusedfroggirl @thecrisisnight @asmollestgremlin @leothecoolswaggyindividual2 @why-is-sol-here

[why-is-sol-here]

uh. I have a deep fear of exhaust fans. esp big metal ones.

open tags

[roseyahhhh]

i have over 100 ocs and at least 35 of them i am currently using! along with this, i try to write at least 1 fun fact for each and i've drawn the vast majority of them at least once. yes most of them are objects.

@mellieksstarz @itzgalaxynoraire @retrocrayons @squari5x6 @theguynobodyinvited @gabrieledega @dawnshockanddarkcrash + any moots i forgot to mention (sorry!) + open tags

[dawnshockanddarkcrash]

My art has been featured in a museum!

I won a place in an art competition where the winners get featured in a group exhibition at the museum that hosts it

Not only did my piece win a place, but I also sold a copy of it for $200!!!

AND on top of that, the guy that helped me make it is a millionaire (I created it, he actually produced it)

Not sure why I never posted a pic. Maybe I’ll do that later

@snapshot311 @purplebehittindifferent @whyerlogs @ai-slop-weather-report @a-silly-poll-side-blog-yay +open tags :D

Sorry if anyone didn’t want to be tagged ._.

[a-silly-poll-side-blog-yay]

I have a tech degree in advertising!

in July I'm finishing a 2 year speedrun bachelor degree with a double major in education and resocialization!

My photos were on an exhibition thrice :)

I had my phone taken for a year by police because my sister tried to frame me into sending threats to politicians ._.

I almost joined a polycule twice

Open tags

[gayblooper]

Uh, what’s a cool secret

I know someone who most likely knows the most in the world about the deceased author Kate Braverman.

I’m left handed.

@wub-cat @jinx-alter @danger-noodle3 @bea-yotch @mysticaleldritchpunk @anemonejinxy and open tags

[jinx-alter]

Hmmmm well I once published a how to draw book 😅 and both my mom and older brother have been in the news before lol

Thanks for tagging me! Uh I tag @drugz-from-space and @britishassistant and anybody else lol

[britishassistant]

Thank you so much!!

Some of my followers might know I work in Visitor Services in museums. However, both of the museums I’ve worked in during the past three years have been involved in major world events

I also want to leave museum work and become a professional author one day!

@sleeping-donkey , @pihuart , @silverstagspirit

[britishassistant]

Just wondering...

What are Yuu's thoughts on their biological mother?

Imagining them seeing their friends having a healthy relationship with their mothers/fathers (except riddle ofc) and feeling a sense of emptiness... a hollow feeling nagging at their heart due to lack of such an experience ...

(Also if Georgina's motherly instincts sense neglected Yuu, she straight up slams adoption paper on the table while Floyd cheers (Yuu unfortunately does not have a say in this) .

Yuu’s thoughts on their bio mum are…complicated. More negative overall.

After all, she was the villain in all of the stories they were told growing up. A wily, whorish, black-hearted seductress, who tricked their father into sleeping with her out of obsessive gold-digging lust. Who paraded herself around the home of their half siblings for nine months until she gave birth to Yuu and, in a fit of insanity, kidnapped Megami to try and force their father to return her demented feelings. The source of the Gracey family’s miseries.

Yuu’s spent most of their life being told that this terrible woman had something deeply wrong with her, something rotten inside her head, so they must too. A lot of their childhood was spent trying to prove this wrong, and even now they will not respond well to being called crazy.

And that’s not even touching their feelings about the fact that this woman apparently grabbed Megami and ran, but couldn’t be bothered to bring along her own bio kid. Half of this is diverted towards Megami in the form of resentment (if it weren’t for you, maybe she would have taken me), but half is still directed at the woman herself in a mix of anger, betrayal, and self-loathing (what the hell is so wrong with me that you dumped me the first chance you got??)

It’s why Megami was ultimately able to get through to them and spark the crazy idea of running away together—she was the only one to tell Yuu stories of their mum where she wanted them too. All three of them were meant to be family. So why shouldn’t Yuu honor their late mother’s wishes and finish what she started?

(Of course, you know how that story turned out.)

They definitely feel a hollow longing every time they interact with the families of their classmates—siblings are okay, since they kind of got a taste of what that could be like with Megami, but loving parents? Grandparents?

Yuu has never had a positive adult experience in their life, so they quietly envy their classmates who are lucky enough to have them.

They’re appropriately polite to their friends’ parents, usually on their best behavior to ensure these adults don’t disapprove of them and say their classmates can’t be friends with them anymore (a common occurrence during their years as the bastard of the Gracey).

But they have not considered that this could lead to potential adoption attempts…

Of course, Yuu doesn’t know everything about their mother. Even with Megami’s stories, there’s quite a bit about the woman’s life that’s a total mystery to them, especially with the Graceys’ slander both pre and postmortem.

For example, they have no idea that their mother was a lesbian and would be shocked if you told them.

The fun part of having multiple Villainous Paranoiac Yuu AUs, particularly the Neon Odyssey space opera one I’m currently playing with, is I get to have the worst person in the galaxy divulge this information in the most psychically damaging way possible >:D

[britishassistant]

If Ace Trappola were a space opera themed rogue (Scoundrel), which would he be?

Quick Draw (shooty bang bang Han Solo style)

Echo (can rewind and fast forward in time to sneak attack (and steal)

Other (include in tags)/see results/my name is Grim and I’m here to steal food

Voting ended onMay 28

[britishassistant]

Thanks for the help everyone! In honor of this, have a snippet of the bios I’m writing for each of the first years:

Ace Trappola: Solari Echo Scoundrel

An “up and coming” starfighter racer who’s down on his luck, Ace may have pissed off a few bozos by reneging on his deal to fix a race and flying off with the collective winnings. With most of the money gone and more than a few angry mobsters closing in, Ace has managed to escape his just desserts so far by abusing the temporal displacement watch he’s “borrowing” from his older brother, but how long until his time—and luck—run out?

[britishassistant]

I need to stop consuming media

It gives me too many ideas T-T

[britishassistant]

IT IS NOW TOMORROW IMMA RAMBLE SOME

Neon Odyssey (space opera) flavor stuff under cut

Yuu is a struggling Holo-Star streamer who accidentally becomes an investigative journalist when a Cacophony-corrupted creature attacks them, a chimera, and six other bystanders in a metropolitan area on stream.

In order to figure out what the hell that was and the causes behind it, they join up with the other six rookies in a ramshackle old junker of a ship to explore the galaxy for answers (and do some not-technically-licensed bounty hunting on the sidelines—Crowley, the original owner of the Ramshackle, needs them to pay off that lease somehow!)

[britishassistant]

More worldbuilding lore under cut, but first some links to help understand the world itself, plus the trailer that got me into this in the first place (tl;dr in this version of space, you can not only hear screams but also explosions, there’s a Harmony to the universe that all souls are connected to, and a force known as the Cacophony which can dis-connect souls and corrupt them into four tones of Discordant)

Space (Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem)

The setting of Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem is set in a perfect disc-shaped[1] galaxy called "Stardust Rhapsody".[2] There is no other galaxy i

Space (Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem)

The setting of Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem is set in a perfect disc-shaped[1] galaxy called "Stardust Rhapsody".[2] There is no other galaxy i

Space (Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem)

The setting of Stardust Rhapsody: Anthem is set in a perfect disc-shaped[1] galaxy called "Stardust Rhapsody".[2] There is no other galaxy i

Which leads us to the twst worldbuilding I’ve been playing with:

Cacophony Chips

A series of strange red microchips. Emits a passive, inaudible radio signal which generates calm and possessive attachment in the current owner (host), but causes a sense of disquiet in perceptive bystanders. Begins leeching black ink-like fluid the longer it is exposed to its host’s negative emotions, until a breaking point triggers the chip to fuse with the host and force a partial Discordant-transformation.

The kind of Discordance varies depending on the neuroses of the host. If the chip cannot be detached from the host in time, this transformation leads to permanent corruption. Once detached, the chip turns black and breaks. This form of the chip will have a symbol of the Tone of Discord it inflicted embossed on it.

Corrupted Aetheron: Thrill (Hedonistic Disregard)

Riddle: Instinct (Destructive Rage)

Leona: Entropy (Envious Spite)

Azul: Instinct (Destructive Rage)

Jamil: Entropy (Envious Spite)

Vil: Entropy (Envious Spite)

Idia: Thrill (Hedonistic Disregard)

Malleus: Progress (Rigid Control)

[britishassistant]

If Ace Trappola were a space opera themed rogue (Scoundrel), which would he be?

Quick Draw (shooty bang bang Han Solo style)

Echo (can rewind and fast forward in time to sneak attack (and steal)

Other (include in tags)/see results/my name is Grim and I’m here to steal food

Voting ended onMay 28

[britishassistant]

I need to stop consuming media

It gives me too many ideas T-T

[britishassistant]

IT IS NOW TOMORROW IMMA RAMBLE SOME

Neon Odyssey (space opera) flavor stuff under cut

Yuu is a struggling Holo-Star streamer who accidentally becomes an investigative journalist when a Cacophony-corrupted creature attacks them, a chimera, and six other bystanders in a metropolitan area on stream.

In order to figure out what the hell that was and the causes behind it, they join up with the other six rookies in a ramshackle old junker of a ship to explore the galaxy for answers (and do some not-technically-licensed bounty hunting on the sidelines—Crowley, the original owner of the Ramshackle, needs them to pay off that lease somehow!)