Firstly HI HELLO I’ve been reading a bunch of your works on AO3 and you gotta be one of my all-time favorites!! They’re definitely comfort reads for sure! But a real quick question— in the notes of chapter 11 of Clean Slate, you had mentioned working on a pirate AU… is that still in the works or am I missing it somewhere? Keep up the amazing work!!
Why hello there!!!! Thank you so much for giving my rambles a try. I'm delighted you've enjoyed them. 🥰🖤💙 I'm also super honored I could be anywhere on you top fav list! I tend to be big on feels and happy endings so I'm glad my stories can provide some comfort!
I saw your other ask about it being ch12! I got you, no worries. Yes! lol It is. Fully outlined. Has it's on Spotify playlist. It is ready to go. It just needs me to get my act together and write it. I get overwhelmed by wips and ideas and my brain hasn't wanted to delve too deep on that one yet. But yeah. It's there! It's actually one that I might try to turn into a real book! With like... humans? Honestly takes away but I don't think the furry market is so big that I could get by NOT writing about humans lolol
Do you want a FREE design from me? I have three available in a special BTACD raffle, located in our chat discord! This is for members who are active in the role-play, but it's easy to get a character and a couple of threads up asap! Check it out:
BTACD is an original high fantasy play-by-post role-playing site located on a Premium Jcink forum, founded in 2003.
BTACD is an original high fantasy play-by-post role-playing site located on a Premium Jcink forum, founded in 2003.
Check out the By Tooth And Claw Dragons community on Discord - hang out with 102 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.
Deciding to do angstober with tmnt cause why not. NOT doing full rendered piece because I would do only one and then sleep in a corner. So colored draft it is
First day is honorbound, so of course I'm doin a Leo. Hope this is legible enough
The Walker family had a long history of being protectors. Whether that be as village guard or castle knights, the Walkers were a strong family that could always be trusted to serve and protect the people.
They were a family of well respected knights. Bonham had served on the king’s personal guard for years and it was no surprise when his sons followed suit. He held it as a point of pride when his eldest was entrusted with the personal protection of the king’s only daughter.
If only he knew what trouble would come from this companionship.
—----------
Cordell knocked on the door. “My lady? Are you nearly dressed? Your mother is expecting you in the library for breakfast.”
A stifled groan could be heard from the other side and he couldn’t help but grin. He was one of the few people in the palace privy to the fact that Emily was far from punctual in the mornings. It was a miracle she was able to make it to any of her pre-lunch meetings. If he and her lady’s maids weren’t being paid to get her up on time, she may very well lay in bed until sunhigh.
The door cracked open and a very-much dressed but grumpy princess greeted him. “Why does she insist on these morning meetings?” Emily grumbled. “I would be perfectly fine just taking breakfast in my chambers.”
“Perhaps your mother knows if she didn’t get you up in the mornings you may never get up at all.”
She glared up at him. “I thought you were supposed to protect me from things like this.”
“Your father hired me to protect you from bandits and vagrants and those that wish harm to the crown. Unless your mother has developed a pension for poisons, I don’t believe these meetings fall into any of those categories.”
“I should report you for your sharp tongue.”
“You won’t. You love it.”
“Don’t test me.”
Cordell chuckled but shut his mouth nonetheless. He made sure to have his standard “Guard” face on by the time they reached the more populated areas of the castle. Bantering between knights and their individual charges happened, but was generally frowned upon.
Cordell and Emily did several things that were frowned upon like that on a daily basis.
—--------------
“Is that another letter from your secret lover?”
Emily glared at her oldest friend, Geri, as she ripped the paper out of her hands. “He’s not my lover nor is he a secret; you wouldn’t know about him if he was a secret.”
“But no one else knows about him and you haven’t even told me his name so obviously you want it to be secret.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Did you just come out here to mock me or do you have a point?”
Geri sat next to her on the garden bench, reading the letter. “He’s quite the poet. So he’s educated. And he knows you well so it’s someone in your social circle. Why must it be secret then? I can’t see why your parents wouldn’t approve, especially since your father is determined against using your hand in marriage as a bargaining chip except as a last resort. Unless…..” She glanced at Emily out of the corner of her eye.
“Unless the reason I recognize this handwriting is because it’s the same handwriting of my good childhood friend Sir Walker, otherwise known as your personal guard, otherwise known as the only person in the kingdom aside from the criminals in the prison that you would be forbidden from falling in love with.”
Emily looked away and felt her cheeks heat up. “Do you think I don’t know that?” she hissed. “And I didn’t want to either. He’s just- He’s so charming. And he’s not even trying to be. He’s so good to me and he keeps secrets for me and…. I know I shouldn’t and both of our parents would surely have it in for us if they found out but…. Somehow that makes it all better.”
“Have it in for- You’ll be lucky if your father doesn’t hang him!”
“You’re exaggerating! You can’t execute someone for being in love. Besides, it’s not as if we’ve….consummated the relationship. We’ve barely even kissed. All we really do is exchange notes and flirty banter. It’s hardly even a relationship.”
“Oh, good, he was a gentleman to the grave!” Geri shoved the note into her hands. “I’m going to tell you this and then I’ll tell him the same: end this before it goes too far. It’s only asking for trouble. And I won’t see my two best friends ruined by their own hands.” With that, she stormed away, leaving Emily equally furious and resigned.
—-----------
“She’s right, you know,” Cordell said softly.
It was late. He wasn’t meant to be in her chambers. But they had to talk about this.
“You think I don’t know that?” She snapped. “I just- I don’t want to listen to her. I know it’s selfish of me but- I love you. I don’t want to marry another man. No one else understands me the way you do, not even my friends and certainly not my parents or anyone they would approve my marriage with.”
“You don’t know that, princess.” Cordell grasped her hands in his. “I know you feel that way now. And I understand it; I can’t say I haven’t thought the same. But we’re still young. And there are plenty of nice young dukes and lords and princes out there. I’m sure there’s one you wouldn’t object to marrying.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to marry someone I wouldn’t object to. I want to marry someone I love. Or at the very least, someone I enjoy the company of. And…. None of the ones I’ve met are that.”
“Perhaps one you meet in the future will-”
“Oh for christ’s sake, will you quit trying to talk me out of loving you?!”
“Princess,” Cordell sighed gently. “If I saw a way this would end well, I wouldn’t dream of trying. But I think it’s time we stop being foolish. And need I remind you that your neck won’t be the one on the chopping block if we’re found out?” he added, a small amount of bite in his tone.
“Cordi….I- I’m sorry.” She leaned against him, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat.
His hand came up to hold her head there. “I know, princess.” He kissed the top of your head. “I swore to your father I would protect you. And I intend to keep that promise for the rest of my life. But there’s only so much I can do to protect your heart.”
She closed her eyes and a few tears slipped out. “I know. But I’m not letting you go. Any future husband of mine is just going to have to accept you. Besides….” She let herself smile. “There are plenty of princes and dukes and lords with…special friends of their own.”
Cordell huffed. “We should be so lucky to find one, my princess.”
“We will.” Perhaps she couldn’t wed him. But she wouldn’t let him go. Not now, and not ever. Her future husband will just have to be willing to live with that.
He feels even more lost and alone now that he’s standing in the center of the room by himself.
“What’s your name?” the Kel Dor asks him.
He hesitates a moment, but there’s no real reason not to tell them. His name will give away nothing. No one knows about him. “Anakin Skywalker.”
“Young, you are,” Yoda speaks up, “Not as blinded by the Dark Side as your master is. The chance to take up our offer, you still have.”
Anakin has… no idea what to say to that. Agreeing would give him a chance at finding a way out, but he can’t really agree for his master. If Sidious already refused, he doubts he’d be happy at all if Anakin disregarded that. But this might be their only chance at getting out of here, at putting off whatever the Jedi really plan to do with them. And if this creature is really a threat, it… doesn’t feel right to just do nothing.
The purpose of the Sith was to help where the Jedi failed, and all he’s ever wanted to do is help. Doesn’t mean he can just… agree where hsi master didn’t, though, can he? “What is it doing?” he asks finally, because that’s what he needs to know. If it’s even as serious as they’re making it sound like… he doesn’t have much choice.
Something is wrong and Anakin has felt it for a long time. He… wants to help, because something is hurting the Force and it shouldn’t be.
“It shows up on various planets with no pattern, killing everyone nearby senselessly, and usually disappearing before we get there,” replies another member, “But we’ve encountered it briefly, and it’s a creature of the Dark Side.”
“How can I help, where you can’t?” Anakin asks, cautiously.
“You know the Dark Side,” Windu replies, bluntly, “You may stand a better chance at stopping it.”
For them to go so far as asking a Sith for help, it must be serious. And it… doesn’t really feel right to refuse, when people are dying from it.
Besides, it’s his fault they got captured in the first place, so he should at least try to get them out. Somehow. Even if he’s probably going to just mess it up even worse. That always seems to happen, and trying to talk to the Council makes him feel like – like when he was talking to the masters back on Tatooine. And he’s so afraid of messing up and saying the wrong thing, and making this worse.
“If I helped you, what would happen to my master?”
He doesn’t like the looks the Council members are exchanging. Doesn’t trust it.
“He will be kept here,” Windu replies, coldly.
“No harm will come to him,” the Kel Dor assures.
Anakin doesn’t know that he really believes that, but there’s nothing he can do. If he turns down this offer, they’ll have no way of getting out.
He has to decide now, though, and he can only hope this is the right choice. If he could feel the Force, at least it would give him some comfort. At least he wouldn’t feel so desperately alone, like he’s lost in the middle of nothingness because he can’t feel anything. “I… I’ll help you,” he says finally, desperately hoping this isn’t a terrible mistake. Maybe he doesn’t want to, but it still feels like this is something he has to do.
What’s your favorite Avatar fic you’ve ever written?
Oh thanks for the ask anon! This is a difficult question, they're all close to my heart because I tend to write in a trance/flow like state where the words just pour out of me and I am not in control. The story writes itself, I am but a medium.
However, forced at gunpoint I would choose
1. But Dawn still Find Us Again - a gen fic, focusing on Zuko's relationship with each of the Gaang in each chapter. Canon compliant (so far.) Proud of this one because I feel I captured the dynamics of each of them very well, and the thing is I wrote my way into understanding them. For the first time, I understood that saying about 'you can only truly hate or love someone once you understand their hopes and dreams and fears as if they were your own.'
2. This Is Going To Hurt - Zukka fic where Zuko self harms and Sokka tries to help him, post boiling rock, before southern raiders. Zuko tries to help Sokka in return. TW for self harm. This fic is raw and burning, written when I was going through something similar, and when I reread it I can still remember clearly the headspace I was in then and how it was just some months ago. Not wanting to die, but living was exhausting and yet no one sees the daily battle. I'm glad to have made it out through another cycle but this fic serves as a call for people out there who may be going through similar: we see you and we applaud you for continuing even on bad days.
3. My current WIP Honor Bound where Zuko and Sokka are soulbonded by force, and Zuko gets captured and tortured with Sokka feeling the aftereffects and secondhand pain. Enemies to lovers, mental bonds, learning to unlearn 100 years of prejudice. Funny but also heart-wrenching. It’s podficced by the amazing @dr-fumbles-mcstupid who really went all out with the suggested sound effects, and I daresay it’s better listened to. It's a massive piece of work, probably soon-to-be my longest :3
