A Corvid In A Hoodie

Kastaborous on Ao3 || Art & Writing || P("daydreaming")=0.99 Check out "quasars-archive" for reblogs on Writing & Art. Relevant tags: #quasar draws & #quasar writes

[quasar-crew]

introducing me: author, artist, and ace raven

[Image ID: A picture of a raven in profile with highlighting using the asexual flag colors of purple, white, and light gray, with stars illuminating from within the birds' feathers.]

[quasar-crew]

I am in a standoff with fight scenes in multiple fics right now. I can write them. I know how to write them. Each time I write them its a grapple where the winner comes out exhausted and bloody and barely alive.

[quasar-crew]

Been working on a Thing for the past month and change. Ideally it will be a long oneshot, because I need to have this thing completed and out of my brain, so uh... might be a wait but it'll be here.

It's Resident Evil related because I am still stuck in this pit. Also it's a crossover.

[quasar-crew]

thing will now be happening sooner because it will now be three chapters instead of three sections in one big longshot.

[quasar-crew]

Tried to design a bird-esque dragon and ended up redesigning theropod raptors from first principles

[quasar-crew]

okay but I love what they've done with the reblog graphs. they've added a legend. gorgeous.

[botw10th-zine]

“Link... You are the light - our light - that must shine upon Hyrule once again.”

Our contributor and moderator applications are now open! We look forward to hearing from all of you. Be sure to review our application guidelines (which are reiterated in the forms) when you apply. If you have any friends who would be interested in contributing or moderating the zine, please be sure to share this post with them ❤️

PAGE ARTIST APPLICATION / WRITER APPLICATION / RECIPE APPLICATION / MERCH ARTIST APPLICATION / MOD APPLICATION

*moderator applications close June 15, 2026

[quasar-crew]

👀 *pops this here for my fellow Zelda fans to check out*

((Considering "Calamity" is one of the zine themes and I absolutely love exploring the Great Calamity in BOTW... and have written things in that vein before...))

[quasar-crew]

@polarspaz silly idea I'm putting here for posterity. The hunters in Bloodborne have a line of "perfumes" / "smelling salts" whose entire purpose is to basically rub under the nose or wear under the mask to block out the horrific stench of death... They're called things like "beast musk" and "ode to moonlight" and "yharnam yew".

The smell that everyone comments on hunters as having is just the perfume/cologne equivalent they DRENCH themselves in

[chimaerakitten]

idk if this is controversial or not, but I really like when non-professional writing like fic has hints of author bleedthrough when it comes to like, what different people assume is common knowledge. Like sometimes I’ll be reading a fic and it’ll just be obvious that the person writing it is either obsessed with medicine or has been to medical school, because they’ll use terms that are just a shade too technical without explaining them. It’s never the super specific stuff that they’d know other people are unaware of, it’s always the things that once you’ve known it for a while you forget it’s niche knowledge. It’s fun because as a fanfic reader it reminds me of how this is a fun hobby community, where everyone has their own thing going on outside of fandom. Everyone’s got their own specialties and they can’t help but write that into their work sometimes

[chimaerakitten]

…well this post sure took off

[bamsara]

new ask game; what do you think my hobby, skillset or knowledge or any other details of me based off my writing

[edgar-allan-possum]

[quasar-crew]

Been working on a Thing for the past month and change. Ideally it will be a long oneshot, because I need to have this thing completed and out of my brain, so uh... might be a wait but it'll be here.

It's Resident Evil related because I am still stuck in this pit. Also it's a crossover.

[dduane]

Your occasional reminder. 😏

[quasar-crew]

just spent 10 minutes giving a cat a reflected shaft of light to chase. now she's staring at the ceiling wondering where her chase-thing went.

[quasar-crew]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

@polarspaz okay my muse is having a blast with RookieBug right now, I am writing so much, he truly is too powerful. So tada, have a scene of Claire meeting Leon as a bug!

...

Claire really hates this city. 

Of all the places Chris had to live, it just to be the one city to get taken over by fucking zombies. Because what the fuck else is she supposed to call the things these people have become? Things that stagger back to their feet like drunken marionettes, skin grey and eyes clouded, half their face and jaw torn off. Claire has seen rabies. Rabies doesn’t do this shit. 

So, zombies. Well, zombies and… other things. As Claire moves through the streets, she’s caught glimpses of creatures that aren’t remotely human. Not by a long shot. 

Pressed into the shadows of a building, holding her breath, Claire watched the shadow of a giant stalk past the end of an alley. While she can’t see much, she swears she saw caution tape wrapped around it. She swears it spoke, gargling something that sounded vaguely like: “Starrrrsss.”

This city is one of monsters. 

She hopes Leon made it safely to the police station. 

[rest on ao3...]

Pings~ [ @w5aw5 @jupiter-2012-blog @lliinno-blog @wazzappp @solettistuff @hells-couch-potato @nyelung @technicolorartblog @queenadiraa ]

[quasar-crew]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

okay so because plague of carapace is something specific I have now made a series for the "bugverse" aka extended edition of rookiebug, biblically accurate bug, bug crossovers and other such nonsense. Stay tuned to plague of carapace series but also the bugverse will now include ALL the nonsense lol

[quasar-crew]

@polarspaz the powers of rookiebug continue to impress, here's a little scene of Leon, Marvin & Claire raiding a corner/grocery store at ~some point~ during Raccoon City, because the bug boy is terribly underweight and terribly hungry and needs food asap (I will also be putting this on ao3 eventually)

...

“Are you sure about this?” Leon asks, looking over at Marvin and Claire with trepidation. He shifts nervously on his new, too-large feet. “It’s dangerous, the streets are crawling with zombies.”

Claire rolls her eyes, holding up her pistol, shotgun slung over her shoulder. “For the last time Leon, yes! It’s on our way, and you need more to eat than M&M packets.”

“I’ll be fine—”

“Bullshit,” Marvin interrupts, leveling a glare at Leon. “Rookie, you’re way too skinny, you need some proper food. Candy ain’t going to cut it,” the man says, pointing at him. “You can’t have been much heavier than me, and now you’re taller and have a tail. That didn’t come from nowhere.” Marvin jabs a finger toward Leon’s arms. “I can nearly wrap my hand around your bicep, and I sure as fuck couldn’t do that before.”

When Leon shuffles, opening his mouth to try and protest, Marvin sighs. “Leon, look me in the eye and tell me you're not hungry.”

He can’t. Leon looks away, unable to find the words or energy to object.

Because Marvin is right. He is hungry. Desperately so. Adrenaline has managed to carry him this far, but only just. Every time they stop the fatigue in Leon’s bones threatens to pull him into the earth. He’s scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of energy. There’s a constant tremble in his limbs, and despite growing in size, his muscles feel like they’ve been halved. His tail drags behind him as he walks, a constant dead weight. He doesn’t have the spare strength to lift it.

He knows they’re right. If he doesn’t want to slow them down, he needs to eat something. Perhaps the most damning sign of it all is that, despite the gore-strewn station and cannibalistic appetite of the things that stalk the halls, Leon is still hungry.

“Right,” Marvin says, unholstering his handgun and looking between Leon and Claire. “The corner store is close, maybe a block over. We stay quiet, till we can’t. Understand?” When he’s met with nods, the lieutenant gives them a grim smile. “Let’s go.” 

…

They make it to their destination intact. 

They’ve managed to conserve most of their ammunition, Leon helping them clear some barriers and particularly persistent undead. He stumbles a few times, legs nearly giving out, yet more evidence of his waning strength. Meanwhile, the corner grocery store Marvin’s led them to is in a sorry state. The windows are shattered and even from the outside they can see the shelves have been stripped and toppled.

“What a mess,” Claire mutters as she carefully ducks under broken glass. Leon nods, distantly grateful for the carapace as he scrapes against the jagged edges of the window sill. (Too big, too much, tail dragging in after him—)

“Probably got ransacked during the city-wide riots,” Marvin mutters, peering deeper into the darkened store. “See what you can find, and keep an eye out. Might still be a few zombies lurking in here.”

They nod and scatter, flashlights in hand as they sweep the aisles. Even on a closer inspection, the store is pretty barren. The shelves have been thoroughly looted, the things remaining mostly molded produce and a few items tucked on higher shelves. Leon manages to find a few boxes of dried pasta and a bag of gummy worms, which he munches on as he searches.

He’s midway through lifting a few toppled shelves to see if there’s anything underneath when Claire ambushes him with her arms full of metal cans. She dumps them on the floor—making both of them jump at the noise—before shoving one in his hands.

“Try this,” Claire says, grinning. “You liked candy, and this is sweet.”

Leon blinks, lifting the can up and tilting it so he can read the label. It’s a tin of canned peaches, nothing particularly remarkable. Leon’s never been a huge fan of canned fruit—it always tastes weirdly slimy, in his opinion—but beggars can’t be choosers. Or in this case, starving insect monsters can’t be picky.

Carefully Leon pierces the lid with his claws, prying back the metal. Immediately, the smell hits him and Leon’s stomach ties itself in knots, so desperately hungry he’s nauseous. (foodfoodFOOD—) Leon brings the can to his mouth, tipping it slightly to sip at the juice. It’s meant to be a taste test, just to make sure it isn’t rancid, but the instant the sweet hits his tongue Leon’s mind goes on autopilot.

His mouth reflexively unhinges, lower jaw splitting open as he dumps the entire can in his mouth. Sweet sweet food fills his senses and Leon sits in utter bliss for a moment. Belatedly, he remembers chewing is a thing, only to then remember he doesn’t have cheeks anymore when peach juice dribbles out of his mouth. 

“Taste good?” Claire teases and Leon glances at her. He can’t quip back with his mouth full, so he squints at her, trying to convey his annoyance. Claire just laughs harder. “Enjoy! I’ll go find some more.”

Leon huffs, drawn back to his problem of chewing. He could try and swallow it but… half instinctually, he starts trying to strobe his tongue against the roof of his mouth. It’s weird, but he can feel something in his gums loosen, his tongue tensing and then, well… the peaches go to pieces.

He swallows, mushed peaches settling in his stomach. And the instant they do, his innards are screaming, scraping desperate claws along the inside of his ribs. He’s so hungry he’s nauseous, so nauseous he’s hungry. 

eateatEAT—

Leon grabs another can, ripping it open with his claws and dumping the entire contents down his gullet. And then another, and another. He’s aware enough to think food as he inhales anything edible within reach. Beans, canned fruit, something that may have once been pickles. Every swallow just makes him more aware of the yawning pit calling for more more more—

God, he’s starving.

Eventually the haze on his mind fades, the rabid hunger easing into something less ravenous. Leon eats his next item—some uncooked pasta he cracks between his teeth—more slowly, listening as Claire and Marvin move about elsewhere in the store. Despite Claire and Marvin’s insistence, shame and regret sit heavy in Leon’s stomach, twisting with his hunger.

Leon’s a liability, he knows that. First, he’s mutated into a giant bug monster, and now, with his strength giving out, they had to divert attention into getting him food. Leon knows that practically, his new body has its advantages—see jumping over entire obstacles and being bite-proof—and that keeping him healthy will improve their odds. Yet, part of him can’t help but protest that they'd be better off making sure he’s weak, to make it easier to put him down if he loses himself.

“Stop it.” 

Leon startles at Claire’s voice, glancing over at her in confusion. “What?”

“Stop thinking,” Claire says, reaching over to tap a finger to his forehead. Sitting on the ground like this, he’s short enough she can reach. “I can tell you’re being stupid.” Leon grunts in offense, mandibles flaring, but Claire waves him off. “Nope, no, no denying it, you had that look.”

“What look?” Leon asks, leaning back. What the hell is she on about?

“The sad and broody look, same one you got when you were insisting we don’t need to do this,” Claire says, gesturing around them to the store. She raises an eyebrow. “Or, was that not what you were thinking?”

“No,” Leon mutters, trying to hide the fact that yes, that was exactly what he was thinking. To distract from Claire pegging his insecurities, Leon grabs a tin of slightly expired anchovies and starts eating them.

Claire watches him eat, thankfully not pursuing her previous line of inquiry. He’s midway through the anchovies when Claire speaks again. “You’re not swallowing that stuff whole are you?” Leon blinks and shakes his head. All the while, he continues to “not-chew” with his tongue, scraping it and the anchovies over the roof of his mouth. Claire throws her hands in the air. “Then how the hell are you doing it?! I don’t see you chewing!”

Leon shrugs, swallowing. “I uh… I’ve been breaking it apart with my tongue I guess?”

“Come here!” Claire gestures at him, pointing at her feet. “Open your mouth!

Hesitant, but unwilling to risk her ire, Leon obeys. He bends down, hesitantly opening his mouth and trying not to feel too self-conscious. Claire asked, he tells himself. Though why she wants to see his nightmare mouth, he doesn’t know.

She leans in close, and Leon strains to keep track of her while also holding still. Claire doesn’t try to touch, which he’s thankful for, only slipping in and out of his sight.  

“Huh…” she eventually mutters, something odd in her tone.

“‘hat?!” Leon asks, garbled and slightly worried by whatever she may have seen.

“Okay, so… congrats!” Claire chirps, pulling away. “You’ve grown your bug teeth!” When Leon blinks, utterly confused, Claire gestures toward his mouth. “You know, like baby teeth and adult teeth? Anyways, you’ve got like… mini teeth? On your tongue?”

“ON MY WHAT—?!”

“Calm down!” Claire exclaims, which is easy for her to say she DOESN’T HAVE TEETH ON HER TONGUE?! She grabs him by the shoulders, practically hauling him back down to her level, shoving a finger in his face. “Seriously! Listen! It’s fine!” Leon stills, tail still shifting anxiously, but he focuses back on her face.

“Cool, so, there’s like, some tiny teeth along the inside of your gums,” Claire says, pointing toward his mouth with an oddly fascinated look, as if every word coming out of her mouth is not utterly horrifying. Leon’s not sure how it can get worse. “But they’re not proper teeth I don’t think? Flesh barbs, maybe. Also, the edges of your tongue are spiked!” 

Oh look, it got worse.

“Kill me now,” Leon mutters, hiding his head in his hands.

Claire cackles, poking him in the shoulder. “It’s cool! I mean, fucked up, but also cool! Hey Marvin!” she calls and Leon groans, fully hiding his face and nightmare mouth in his arms. Come on Claire, give a man a chance to mourn! My kissing prospects were already in the grave, and now you’ve gone and thrown them in an active volcano! 

“What is it?” Leon hears Marvin ask, and risks a peek out at the Lieutenant. The man has an armload of more cans and snack bags, which he adds to Leon’s cache. Mmm… more canned fruit… “You alright, Rookie?” Marvin asks when he sees Leon. “You’re not eating.”

Leon groans, ducking his face again.

“Come on, Leon, it’s not that bad!” Claire tries to reassure him. Leon huffs. Yeah, right. “Leon’s got mouth teeth,” Claire says over his head to Marvin, and Leon shivers at the reminder. He runs his tongue—a spikey tongue whyyyy—over the inside of his mouth and now that he’s aware of it, he can feel the ridges lining the inside of his mouth.

“Uh… I should hope he has… mouth teeth?” Marvin asks, sounding utterly baffled, and Claire proceeds to regale him with the horrors of Leon’s dental anatomy. 

Meanwhile Leon, who is valiantly trying to resist his giving into his hunger pangs, decides that canned pineapple is worth the shame and embarrassment. He reaches over, snagging one of the cans and pries it open like he’s done all the rest, dumping it in his mouth and then clamping his jaw shut before Claire can get any ideas.

Still, something soft and warm unfolds in Leon’s chest as he “chews” his fruit while Claire bickers with Marvin next to him. He’s got his friends with him. Friends willing to stay despite his… everything. Friends that search a looted grocery store in a zombie infested city all to find him some canned peaches. It makes him feel oddly full, in a way that has nothing to do with the shrinking hunger clawing at his insides. 

The tip of Leon’s tail lazily sways back-and-forth across the floor, finally strong enough to do so. 

...

Ping list (lemme know if you want on or off): @w5aw5 @jupiter-2012-blog @lliinno-blog @wazzappp @solettistuff @hells-couch-potato @nyelung @technicolorartblog @queenadiraa

[polarspaz]

SLAPS THIS VISUAL HERE FOR THE FIC! (Basically what the barbs/teeth look like on Leon's tongue and inner mouth)

OKAY NOW FOR THE GLORIOUS FIC! Claire and Marvin are AMAZING! Claire finding Leon's mutations more interesting than terrifying, is really cute! (Honestly this would be me!) And Marvin just being genuinely concerned about how thin Leon is, was perfect. It's like he's already assuming his role of being Leon's handler without even knowing it! XD

Oh man and poor Leon. It's a good thing they stopped for him and ignored his self sacrificial ass. LOVED how Claire IMMEDIATELY locked in on his mood and put a stop to his dark thoughts. I bet Leon has no idea how expressive his eyes and eyebrows are now, so the sad puppy dog look he was sporting was probably easy for Claire to guess what he was thinking.

Also AMAZING job at describing how the tongue and barbs work at shredding his food, It was honestly very fascinating to read. (And don't worry about kisses Leon. Many would be intimated by that mouth...but not Luis. XD)

Also the little tail wag at the end. SO CUTE!!! AGHHH!

AGHHH THIS WAS SO FRIGGIN GOOD! I LOVED EVERY ITTY BITTY BIT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!

[quasar-crew]

HE LOOKS SO GOOD!! And thank you!! Honestly I have far too much fun figuring out alternative methods for the biology to work... and yeah no, I'm in the same boat as Claire, his mouth is far more fascinating than it is scary!

[quasar-crew]

@polarspaz the powers of rookiebug continue to impress, here's a little scene of Leon, Marvin & Claire raiding a corner/grocery store at ~some point~ during Raccoon City, because the bug boy is terribly underweight and terribly hungry and needs food asap (I will also be putting this on ao3 eventually)

...

“Are you sure about this?” Leon asks, looking over at Marvin and Claire with trepidation. He shifts nervously on his new, too-large feet. “It’s dangerous, the streets are crawling with zombies.”

Claire rolls her eyes, holding up her pistol, shotgun slung over her shoulder. “For the last time Leon, yes! It’s on our way, and you need more to eat than M&M packets.”

“I’ll be fine—”

“Bullshit,” Marvin interrupts, leveling a glare at Leon. “Rookie, you’re way too skinny, you need some proper food. Candy ain’t going to cut it,” the man says, pointing at him. “You can’t have been much heavier than me, and now you’re taller and have a tail. That didn’t come from nowhere.” Marvin jabs a finger toward Leon’s arms. “I can nearly wrap my hand around your bicep, and I sure as fuck couldn’t do that before.”

When Leon shuffles, opening his mouth to try and protest, Marvin sighs. “Leon, look me in the eye and tell me you're not hungry.”

He can’t. Leon looks away, unable to find the words or energy to object.

Because Marvin is right. He is hungry. Desperately so. Adrenaline has managed to carry him this far, but only just. Every time they stop the fatigue in Leon’s bones threatens to pull him into the earth. He’s scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of energy. There’s a constant tremble in his limbs, and despite growing in size, his muscles feel like they’ve been halved. His tail drags behind him as he walks, a constant dead weight. He doesn’t have the spare strength to lift it.

He knows they’re right. If he doesn’t want to slow them down, he needs to eat something. Perhaps the most damning sign of it all is that, despite the gore-strewn station and cannibalistic appetite of the things that stalk the halls, Leon is still hungry.

“Right,” Marvin says, unholstering his handgun and looking between Leon and Claire. “The corner store is close, maybe a block over. We stay quiet, till we can’t. Understand?” When he’s met with nods, the lieutenant gives them a grim smile. “Let’s go.” 

…

They make it to their destination intact. 

They’ve managed to conserve most of their ammunition, Leon helping them clear some barriers and particularly persistent undead. He stumbles a few times, legs nearly giving out, yet more evidence of his waning strength. Meanwhile, the corner grocery store Marvin’s led them to is in a sorry state. The windows are shattered and even from the outside they can see the shelves have been stripped and toppled.

“What a mess,” Claire mutters as she carefully ducks under broken glass. Leon nods, distantly grateful for the carapace as he scrapes against the jagged edges of the window sill. (Too big, too much, tail dragging in after him—)

“Probably got ransacked during the city-wide riots,” Marvin mutters, peering deeper into the darkened store. “See what you can find, and keep an eye out. Might still be a few zombies lurking in here.”

They nod and scatter, flashlights in hand as they sweep the aisles. Even on a closer inspection, the store is pretty barren. The shelves have been thoroughly looted, the things remaining mostly molded produce and a few items tucked on higher shelves. Leon manages to find a few boxes of dried pasta and a bag of gummy worms, which he munches on as he searches.

He’s midway through lifting a few toppled shelves to see if there’s anything underneath when Claire ambushes him with her arms full of metal cans. She dumps them on the floor—making both of them jump at the noise—before shoving one in his hands.

“Try this,” Claire says, grinning. “You liked candy, and this is sweet.”

Leon blinks, lifting the can up and tilting it so he can read the label. It’s a tin of canned peaches, nothing particularly remarkable. Leon’s never been a huge fan of canned fruit—it always tastes weirdly slimy, in his opinion—but beggars can’t be choosers. Or in this case, starving insect monsters can’t be picky.

Carefully Leon pierces the lid with his claws, prying back the metal. Immediately, the smell hits him and Leon’s stomach ties itself in knots, so desperately hungry he’s nauseous. (foodfoodFOOD—) Leon brings the can to his mouth, tipping it slightly to sip at the juice. It’s meant to be a taste test, just to make sure it isn’t rancid, but the instant the sweet hits his tongue Leon’s mind goes on autopilot.

His mouth reflexively unhinges, lower jaw splitting open as he dumps the entire can in his mouth. Sweet sweet food fills his senses and Leon sits in utter bliss for a moment. Belatedly, he remembers chewing is a thing, only to then remember he doesn’t have cheeks anymore when peach juice dribbles out of his mouth. 

“Taste good?” Claire teases and Leon glances at her. He can’t quip back with his mouth full, so he squints at her, trying to convey his annoyance. Claire just laughs harder. “Enjoy! I’ll go find some more.”

Leon huffs, drawn back to his problem of chewing. He could try and swallow it but… half instinctually, he starts trying to strobe his tongue against the roof of his mouth. It’s weird, but he can feel something in his gums loosen, his tongue tensing and then, well… the peaches go to pieces.

He swallows, mushed peaches settling in his stomach. And the instant they do, his innards are screaming, scraping desperate claws along the inside of his ribs. He’s so hungry he’s nauseous, so nauseous he’s hungry. 

eateatEAT—

Leon grabs another can, ripping it open with his claws and dumping the entire contents down his gullet. And then another, and another. He’s aware enough to think food as he inhales anything edible within reach. Beans, canned fruit, something that may have once been pickles. Every swallow just makes him more aware of the yawning pit calling for more more more—

God, he’s starving.

Eventually the haze on his mind fades, the rabid hunger easing into something less ravenous. Leon eats his next item—some uncooked pasta he cracks between his teeth—more slowly, listening as Claire and Marvin move about elsewhere in the store. Despite Claire and Marvin’s insistence, shame and regret sit heavy in Leon’s stomach, twisting with his hunger.

Leon’s a liability, he knows that. First, he’s mutated into a giant bug monster, and now, with his strength giving out, they had to divert attention into getting him food. Leon knows that practically, his new body has its advantages—see jumping over entire obstacles and being bite-proof—and that keeping him healthy will improve their odds. Yet, part of him can’t help but protest that they'd be better off making sure he’s weak, to make it easier to put him down if he loses himself.

“Stop it.” 

Leon startles at Claire’s voice, glancing over at her in confusion. “What?”

“Stop thinking,” Claire says, reaching over to tap a finger to his forehead. Sitting on the ground like this, he’s short enough she can reach. “I can tell you’re being stupid.” Leon grunts in offense, mandibles flaring, but Claire waves him off. “Nope, no, no denying it, you had that look.”

“What look?” Leon asks, leaning back. What the hell is she on about?

“The sad and broody look, same one you got when you were insisting we don’t need to do this,” Claire says, gesturing around them to the store. She raises an eyebrow. “Or, was that not what you were thinking?”

“No,” Leon mutters, trying to hide the fact that yes, that was exactly what he was thinking. To distract from Claire pegging his insecurities, Leon grabs a tin of slightly expired anchovies and starts eating them.

Claire watches him eat, thankfully not pursuing her previous line of inquiry. He’s midway through the anchovies when Claire speaks again. “You’re not swallowing that stuff whole are you?” Leon blinks and shakes his head. All the while, he continues to “not-chew” with his tongue, scraping it and the anchovies over the roof of his mouth. Claire throws her hands in the air. “Then how the hell are you doing it?! I don’t see you chewing!”

Leon shrugs, swallowing. “I uh… I’ve been breaking it apart with my tongue I guess?”

“Come here!” Claire gestures at him, pointing at her feet. “Open your mouth!

Hesitant, but unwilling to risk her ire, Leon obeys. He bends down, hesitantly opening his mouth and trying not to feel too self-conscious. Claire asked, he tells himself. Though why she wants to see his nightmare mouth, he doesn’t know.

She leans in close, and Leon strains to keep track of her while also holding still. Claire doesn’t try to touch, which he’s thankful for, only slipping in and out of his sight.  

“Huh…” she eventually mutters, something odd in her tone.

“‘hat?!” Leon asks, garbled and slightly worried by whatever she may have seen.

“Okay, so… congrats!” Claire chirps, pulling away. “You’ve grown your bug teeth!” When Leon blinks, utterly confused, Claire gestures toward his mouth. “You know, like baby teeth and adult teeth? Anyways, you’ve got like… mini teeth? On your tongue?”

“ON MY WHAT—?!”

“Calm down!” Claire exclaims, which is easy for her to say she DOESN’T HAVE TEETH ON HER TONGUE?! She grabs him by the shoulders, practically hauling him back down to her level, shoving a finger in his face. “Seriously! Listen! It’s fine!” Leon stills, tail still shifting anxiously, but he focuses back on her face.

“Cool, so, there’s like, some tiny teeth along the inside of your gums,” Claire says, pointing toward his mouth with an oddly fascinated look, as if every word coming out of her mouth is not utterly horrifying. Leon’s not sure how it can get worse. “But they’re not proper teeth I don’t think? Flesh barbs, maybe. Also, the edges of your tongue are spiked!” 

Oh look, it got worse.

“Kill me now,” Leon mutters, hiding his head in his hands.

Claire cackles, poking him in the shoulder. “It’s cool! I mean, fucked up, but also cool! Hey Marvin!” she calls and Leon groans, fully hiding his face and nightmare mouth in his arms. Come on Claire, give a man a chance to mourn! My kissing prospects were already in the grave, and now you’ve gone and thrown them in an active volcano! 

“What is it?” Leon hears Marvin ask, and risks a peek out at the Lieutenant. The man has an armload of more cans and snack bags, which he adds to Leon’s cache. Mmm… more canned fruit… “You alright, Rookie?” Marvin asks when he sees Leon. “You’re not eating.”

Leon groans, ducking his face again.

“Come on, Leon, it’s not that bad!” Claire tries to reassure him. Leon huffs. Yeah, right. “Leon’s got mouth teeth,” Claire says over his head to Marvin, and Leon shivers at the reminder. He runs his tongue—a spikey tongue whyyyy—over the inside of his mouth and now that he’s aware of it, he can feel the ridges lining the inside of his mouth.

“Uh… I should hope he has… mouth teeth?” Marvin asks, sounding utterly baffled, and Claire proceeds to regale him with the horrors of Leon’s dental anatomy. 

Meanwhile Leon, who is valiantly trying to resist his giving into his hunger pangs, decides that canned pineapple is worth the shame and embarrassment. He reaches over, snagging one of the cans and pries it open like he’s done all the rest, dumping it in his mouth and then clamping his jaw shut before Claire can get any ideas.

Still, something soft and warm unfolds in Leon’s chest as he “chews” his fruit while Claire bickers with Marvin next to him. He’s got his friends with him. Friends willing to stay despite his… everything. Friends that search a looted grocery store in a zombie infested city all to find him some canned peaches. It makes him feel oddly full, in a way that has nothing to do with the shrinking hunger clawing at his insides. 

The tip of Leon’s tail lazily sways back-and-forth across the floor, finally strong enough to do so. 

...

Ping list (lemme know if you want on or off): @w5aw5 @jupiter-2012-blog @lliinno-blog @wazzappp @solettistuff @hells-couch-potato @nyelung @technicolorartblog @queenadiraa

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Okay so finally have a place where I'll put my RookieBug stuff on ao3, tada~ (no new writing yet that hasn't been on Tumblr, just putting this here)

@polarspaz @w5aw5 @jupiter-2012-blog @lliinno-blog @wazzappp @solettistuff @hells-couch-potato @nyelung @technicolorartblog @queenadiraa

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Okay been getting requests to put the scenes I've been writing for rookiebug / biblically accurate bug / bonus plague of carapace on ao3 and I absolutely agree I need to put them on there, only I'm currently debating the mechanics of it.

Because I'm writing these things out of order. And for carapace, a number of these scenes will probably feature / be re-cycled into later chapters or into their own oneshots so I'm like... hesitant to do so there.

Like... mmmmmmm... I plan to shove all the rookiebug / biblically accurate bug into some respective one-shot-collection-fics but the chapters won't be in chronological order if I do post as I write them. (And that will bug me bc I'll want to reshuffle it to be in chronological order.)

Talking myself in circles........ anyways feel free to shout ideas at me / encouragement / whatever.