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fountainpenguin · 18 days

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"No one lives forever~ Let's have a party; there's a full moon in the sky! It's the hour of the wolf and I don't wanna die..." (x)

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New Dog's Life chapter today! ~ 3rd Life series fan-season

Chapter 35 - “Incendiary (BigB, Skizz, Etho, Scott)”

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Start from Chapter 1

💚 More Pixels Imperfect fics

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BigB visits a tipsy Scar. Skizz does paperwork. Etho sobs on the floor. Scott gets something to eat.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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T-rated descriptions of BigB discussing cuddles with Ren

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bigbst4tz2 - Moth (Ex-Illusioner)

Status: Increasingly concerned

City inspector, private investigator, and town crier

🖤 🧡 💚

This is getting intense. It's pinching at his hearts. I need a better observation post. Thank Beef for the card shop, though- and its rooftop bar. It's not exactly a night of snuggling and macaroni, but Pearl's whisper over comm gave him a good excuse to duck out. He likes Ren. But Ren's… a lot. It's charming to see him playing with the young fox hybrids. Jimmy's presence helped soak some energy too; it's easier, see, to handle Ren in small doses or with a bigger group. But it's nice to stretch. He needs time with his own thoughts now and then.

BigB lands in a fwump of wings. Not many people are up here tonight. Yeah, card games don't tend to be an instinct programmed into mob behavior. This place will be busier come new moon night. Three people sit at the barstools, talking to someone that BigB barely glanced at. They look heavily modded. No full moon pulls for them. Scar's here too. After what he glimpsed when Scar was on the floor with Scott, he'd be more surprised if he wasn't. Didn't Martyn crash through his roof? Yikes.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks over his shoulder. Scar looks up. He's drinking alone tonight. Again, don't blame him. Heavier than usual for him, isn't it? Raw binary code sparkles in his shot glass. Scar's eyes glint off-green, all dim and hazy. His soul traits haven't sprung up, though his form seems to be a little loose around the shoulders.

"Hello, BigB! No, not at all- pull up a seat if you'd like. What's the word on the streets these days?"

BigB's antennae twitch forward. He climbs on top of a short block stack at the edge of the roof- the corner spot where the fence post railing connects. Yeah, this will work. It's easier to sit on than the posts themselves and he gets a decent view of Headquarters. Scar's just two tables over, within prox chat distance. BigB gets himself situated, flapping out his wings. He cracks open the eyespots to soak in as much area as he can. "Well… Impulse and Tango got some farms approved. They're only authorized to run it for short periods of time and they're on trial to prove they can follow through with the ethics requirements, but we might get renewable iron rolling in pretty soon. Dude, that would be a game-changer."

"Oh, really?" Scar takes another sip of his drink. His vex wings flutter at his shoulders. BigB doesn't need to turn around to see that. "You know, I've always wondered why we have glowing iron golems in this dimension, but not glowing iron. It really makes you think. What a quad- quandary."

"Hmm… I guess because it's a programmed drop, not a literal part of their body."

"True!"

What a day. One of the longest ones he's experienced in a while, seeing as he had check-in work in the morning, a full two weeks of recording, and city inspection work when he went offline. BigB yawns, thrumming his wings. But Pearl asked him to keep an eye on Scott, and Scott's definitely up to something. He snuck out a window. This should be interesting.

"BigB?"

"What?"

"Do you think Grian would like me more if I was a worm?"

He rolls one of his eyespots, trying not to show expression otherwise. "I'm sure Grian likes you fine." If this is some jab at soulmates and Double Life, it's not one he's up for tonight. Though that thought does wiggle beneath his exoskeleton and bite at every heart.

I bet Ren would like me more if I were a giant world-eating worm.

Maybe he would've been into that in a way he wasn't into a soft and fluffy moth who loitered in the corners of his eyes, following instructions instead of bossing him around. And as he thinks that, he pinches his brow and rubs up and down. Ren checked every box when they were soulmates. He flirted and flounced and nuzzled while living at Box…

… but Ren's into things that BigB was never going to be able to give him, like fangs and drool and razor-sharp claws. He embraced the roleplay. Pretended there was something there. They were cuddling shirtless every night. Even carroting sometimes, foreheads pressed and mouths soft as they huffed against each other's necks. Hands sliding, fingers tracing spiracles they could both feel, even though they were only legitimate on BigB's skin. Arms wrapped around each other. Backs arched as they whispered and chased that little lip of lust and trust.

"Oh no," Scar says softly, mostly to his drink. "He might not recognize me if I'm a worm. Do you think Cub still would?" Cub loves me, Scar adds in his mind. BigB can hear that, like he can hear everything, because of the way Scar's throat constricts on individual words. It's subtle, but he can. Because BigB always listens, and he picks up everything.

He flicks an antenna, but otherwise ignores this, lost in his own thoughts and the cold hand resting on his face. It's almost not fair, you know… how everyone in Double Life got paired with someone they could learn to love. Maybe had loved in the past. And he and Ren had golden history, twirling around each other like a moth chasing flames in 3rd Life and Last Life too.

But loving Ren is a loser's game from the start, if you aren't someone like Martyn who was born with spiny wings and lashing tail and fangs and drool and claws. Ren's a performer and very good when guiding partners through a rush of carrots, but he was never going to fall in love with BigB the way BigB tried to fall in love with him.

It's not like he didn't try. He cuddled too. He responded with what felt like enthusiasm every time Ren pulled him in, licking his cheeks and running hands down his sides. Pulling him down on the bed and into his arms. Day after day, week after week, he mirrored the motions and fell in love. Even when he knew it wasn't real. When he lay his head on Ren's rising, falling chest and gazed up at his sleepy, bristle-covered face.

Ren's such a rugged and handsome man, honestly. He loves working in the dirt. Maybe it's a dog thing. Maybe he just likes plants and tiny creatures in the soil. He's got the muscles of someone who rolls huge boulders aside just to take a peek at ants and worms. Maybe a fungus.

And he's beautiful, and he loves so much, and it's all too much sometimes (because it isn't real). So with wings whispering at his back… BigB rested his cheek and curled his fingers, biting bare skin, and asked him for the truth.

"If I mod in some ears and fangs and maybe a tail, would that do something for you?"

[Full chapter on AO3 - Link at top]

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inawearyworld · 5 months

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music makers/dreamers of dreams: a fiytwtb addition

a study of wren's relationship with music at two pivotal points, and music's relationship to the world of wonka as a whole

2023!wonka x oc (though lbr there is also a SIZABLE dose of fickelgruber), ~1.9k

alrighty SO. i was thinking more about this dang movie (as you can probably see by the rest of this blog) and all those thoughts came here. i am a big ole motherfreakin nerd for music and shakespeare and many other things, and therefore so is wren.

also this takes place in the universe of the original screenplay (in which pure imagination is first sung by noodle as she teaches willy to read). my take on that song here in general is more like the original in the 70s movie; there’s just Somethin About It Man.

alrighty, enjoy, like comment reblog etc, love yall <3

fic masterlist

“We are the Music Makers, and We are the Dreamers of Dreams”, being a Prologue and Epilogue to “the Chronicles of the Songbird”, regarding the Songs in question and their Bird, one Wren Matterson.

Two Years and Eight Months Prior to Chapter One

This had been a very odd evening.

Wren had been put up in a luxury hotel for the amount of time she’d agreed to stay in the city, which had taken quite a bit of getting used to. Coming back to her room after a day of work voicing advertisements, she had noticed a crisply thrice-folded paper slipped under her door, held together with an emerald wax seal.

Yes, that was where the oddness had started.

She’d torn the seal, read the note conveyed by a cursive hand so elaborate it nearly caused a headache, and crinkled her brow.

She’d opened the door to her room’s closet, faced with the sight of a dress, stole, and gloves of deep green velvet that she soon learned were impossibly well-tailored.

She’d followed the address of the note, becoming even more confused when it led her to the city’s cathedral, but presented it to the bishop as instructed. He had looked her up and down and ushered her into what turned out to be an elevator.

She’d continued through the corridors, growing more and more curious and undeniably uneasy, greeted by a woman with tired eyes whom she wished she could have truly talked to. Any attempt at conversation that Wren made, though, was interrupted by whispers that came from the other side of the heavy door-

“The two of you must stay mostly in shadow, she won’t agree if she recognizes you and knows of our arrangement too early.”

“Are-are you sure of her, then, Felix, if she’s too-”

“Oh, do shut up, Gerald, she’ll certainly come around by the time we’ve-besides, you know you owe me one-”

“Gentlemen, please. Let’s just focus on the…ahem…altered choreography.”

“You can’t be in the center all the time, Arthur, it so happens that for this particular-”

“Fine, fine. Miss Bonbon, lights at the ready?”

And then the guard had cleared her throat, the whispers had ceased, and Wren went inside, asking if this summoning was for some sort of rerecording session.

And that was how she had gotten to this point, whatever point this was.

The evening’s oddness now found her the focal point of a whirling tango, a display so dizzying she barely knew which way was up. It was a teenaged fever-dream fantasy come to life, colored lights flooding and hands on her waist and trembling twixt-verse vamps and velvet and tweed and silk.

It was a too-sweet overwhelm of something, but at least it was something at all.

The lighting was such that she couldn’t tell exactly where she was, but she realized that, in that moment, she didn’t care. There was a taste of dark mint chocolate in the air, and she became aware that at some point a massive necklace of dewdrop emeralds had been clasped around her neck by a deft, grazing touch and was now dappling her collarbone as she was twirled, dipped, tossed, thrown.

Most inescapable of all was Felix Fickelgruber’s voice in her ear, accompanied by tight harmonies that came from seemingly nowhere, promising her every speck of security and influence that she’d been in need of her whole life. Any question or dissent from Wren was smoothly dismissed in rhyme, and even when she could get a few words in, they somehow always came out in rhythm.

It was almost as if her innate tendency to musicianship overruled any resistance.

It was almost as if he’d known that would be the case.

The realization was alarming and delicious all at once, and with the current sensation of melodies pronounced against her neck, she was inclined to focus on the latter.

The music from nowhere started to build, shifting from the driving tango into a blasting Broadway finale. Clear-toned horns, stunningly blaring lights, this sauntering silhouette with his sea-of-chocolate eyes calling her by a new name-it was too much, one quiet thought piped up, something’s being hidden.

“You’ll be living so high, don’t refuse my-”

Then the lights dimmed further and all else seemed to disappear, save for Felix and the sound of one solo violin.

“-question it took all this to confess.”

The violin threw in a chromatic accent, adding to her held-back and long-delayed swoon, and she realized the next line was hers.

“Don’t know if I should play it…”

“Darling, won’t you say it?”

Then his hand was lifting her face, and there was silence for the first time in what felt like ages.

She was backed up against a wall, not only in metaphor.

There was only one syllable left in the stanza, and only one possible rhyme.

“Yes.”

She let out a breath, which was soon caught up into his own as violins swooped into a sickeningly soaring final beat.

A Few Minutes Following Chapter Five

The librarian that had been the first in this city to give Wren a kind smile all that time ago was standing on her steps, hugging her daughter, who looked as if she was finally breathing for the first time in her fourteen years.

Without question, this was the most beautiful thing that the other woman had ever witnessed.

Something close to the same was probably true, too, for the man who stood beside her.

“If you want to view paradise, simply look at them and view it.”

He’d sung to Noodle to encourage her as they approached the library, a lilting melody that he was currently continuing-to himself now, and with tears in his voice.

“Somebody to hold onto; it’s all we really need.”

They both knew Noodle would stay in touch with them, they knew they were more than happy for her, but they were still touched with tears. Wren had her own bond with the girl, but she knew Willy would miss her the most out of everyone, so she took his arm, and they leaned on each other.

“Nothing else to it.”

He was probably thinking of his own mom, too.

And she was thinking of hers.

They’d finally been able to write back and forth again; Wren had read over and over the two years’ worth of her family’s letters, remembering all the time she’d spent worrying and wondering aloud to Felix why she’d never gotten a letter from them. He’d always flicked her words away, assured her they must have simply been busy, that the mail these days was spotty; his voice was always sweet and smooth on those days, and she’d allowed it to comfort her when she thought nothing else could.

Never again.

She’d written pages of apologies and explanations to her mom, pouring every ounce of love into that paper, and receiving the reply felt like a world-heavy weight off of her shoulders.

It was the same feeling that she knew her friend was feeling now, that her new love had felt in spirit just minutes ago.

They held each other, certain and close within the shared tinge of loneliness.

“So goes a good deed in a weary world.”

They turned to see the Oompa-Loompa just down the path, looking between them, his eyebrows going up a bit when his gaze found Wren.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Wonka,” he said half-sarcastically, “it seems I’ve misquoted in the presence of your aficionado of the Bard. ‘So shines a good deed in a naughty-’”

“It’s fine,” she laughed. “Portia’s…not exactly the most admirable of characters to need to quote correctly, anyway.”

“Quite right.”

“And I do like ‘weary’,” Willy mused. “It’s not what’s written, but it…”

“Just feels better,” Wren agreed, and Willy smiled at her before turning back to the Oompa-Loompa.

“I was wondering if I’d see you again.”

One negotiation later, the three were walking across an old bridge to a castle of ruin that nearly took Wren’s breath away. There was history in these old stones, so much life, so much room to dream.

“It’s beautiful, Willy.”

“Just wait,” he said with a grin.

“It was sweet, by the way, what you sang to Noodle. How did you find that melody?”

“It was hers, actually. Seems the idea of imagination can…”

He trailed off when the church bells tolled in a way that Wren had never heard them ring before.

High B flat, low A, low B flat.

Over the ostinato, she started to hum Noodle’s melody, and Willy stopped in his tracks, looking straight at her.

“What?” Wren said.

“...It fits.”

“Yeah, perfectly,” she smiled.

“Keep going,” Willy said, getting that sort of shimmer in his eye that usually came when he’d thought up some sort of wonderful new idea. “You’re the only person I’ve known who sees beauty in an old ruined castle-not only what it could be, but even just what it is. So”-overwashed with thoughts, he took her hands and kissed them, the dreamer in his element, and she laughed, and the Oompa-Loompa rolled his eyes, and Willy grinned, leading them into the castle-“so, Wren, my dear Wren-tell me what you hear.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and let it come. The possibility of the place, the fulfillment of the past few weeks, the melancholy and wonder, the magic that had entered her life.

“Start with a minor chord on the second,” she said softly, slowly. “Repeat your first few notes, let it fall into the five, then-then it goes to that major seventh.”

She swooned into the unexpected chord, then realized that, as she was murmuring each suggestion, it was blooming into full orchestral realization behind the chocolatier’s voice. At the same time, the castle’s courtyard was starting to take shape; the crumbling walls returned to their speckled glory, a beautiful domed ceiling of glass appeared from nowhere, and colorful ingredient pipes started to snake around each corner. Willy’s eyes widened with wonderstruck joy as his creation came to life, and he and Wren looked at each other with equal and mirrored pride.

For his part, the Oompa Loompa started to seem the slightest bit impressed, which the couple took as a win, smiling in awe as they danced into the space.

“We’ll begin with a spin, traveling-”

“One, two, diminished flat three…”

“-in the world of my creation!”

He was the taste and the sight, she was the sound and the sense.

“What we’ll see…”

“Two-five…”

“…will defy…”

The dance came to a pause, and he turned to her, eyes shimmering with anticipatory trust.

The answer came to her as a miracle would.

Your wheel mixes its chocolate, my song mixes its mode. Subvert their expectations, my love, just like you always have.

“Major three,” she said breathlessly, and-

“Explanation.”

The chord ricocheted through the space, and something like a sigh of a laugh escaped them both. Then the bridge came, soaring and swooping with a much truer hope than anything she’d ever heard before.

Wren Matterson had always loved music-it had been once her lifeline, then her work, then the thing that had held her in place. But now, it didn’t have a betraying hold on her, no-now it was hers, born of inspiration from those she loved, coursing through her skin with a warmth unlike anything she’d ever felt.

Perhaps there wasn’t exactly nothing to it, but they had indeed changed quite a bit of the world, and she had the feeling that they’d only just begun.

“There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.”

#fiytwtb #wonka fanfiction #wonka 2023 #timothee chalamet #timothee chalamet fanfiction #timothee chalamet fic #timothee x reader #timothée chalamet #willy wonka x reader #wonka #wonka movie #wonka fanfic #timothée chalamet x reader #mat baynton x reader #mat baynton #mathew baynton #mathew baynton x reader

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sunshinesmebdy · 2 months

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Venus in Aries: Passion, Innovation, and a Pinch of Impulsiveness in Business

Calling all bold entrepreneurs and financially adventurous souls! Buckle up, because Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and prosperity, is setting hearts (and wallets) on fire with its fiery transit through Aries. This dynamic duo ignites a potent mix of passion, initiative, and a dash of impulsiveness, influencing how we approach business and finances from April 5th onwards.

The Aries Influence: A Bold Leap Forward — Taking Calculated Risks with Venusian Fire

Typically, Venus thrives in diplomacy and collaboration. But under the fiery influence of Aries, the ram’s sign, expect a more assertive and action-oriented approach. This is a time to chase exciting ventures, launch innovative products, and negotiate deals with confidence. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks, but remember, calculated is the keyword. Aries’ impulsiveness can lead to hasty decisions, so thorough research and a well-defined strategy are crucial before diving headfirst.

Venus, in its usual celestial dance, prefers the harmonious tango of diplomacy and collaboration. It thrives in building partnerships, fostering agreements, and creating a win-win scenario for all involved. Think of Venus as the ultimate negotiator, charming its way to mutually beneficial deals.

But enter Aries, the bold ram. This fire sign is all about taking charge, initiating action, and pushing boundaries. When Venus finds itself nestled in Aries’ fiery domain, a fascinating shift occurs. The diplomatic charm takes a backseat, replaced by a more assertive and pioneering spirit. This isn’t about forceful domination; it’s about confidently pursuing your vision and taking decisive steps to make it a reality.

Here’s how this plays out in business and finance:

Chasing Exciting Ventures: The Aries influence awakens a thirst for adventure. You might find yourself drawn to groundbreaking ideas, innovative products, or untapped markets. This is a prime time to explore new business ventures that ignite your passion and set you apart from the competition.

Launching with Confidence: The usual Venusian caution around launching something new gets a makeover. Aries’ confidence is contagious, making you more likely to take the plunge and present your ideas to the world. However, remember, confidence doesn’t negate preparation. Develop a solid launch strategy, ensure your product or service is market-ready, and then go forth and conquer!

Negotiating with Fire: The collaborative spirit of Venus gets a dose of healthy assertiveness. When negotiating deals, you’ll be more comfortable advocating for your worth and confidently stating your terms. This doesn’t mean throwing out ultimatums, but rather, approaching negotiations with a clear understanding of your value and what you bring to the table.

The Calculated Risk Factor:

This is where the “calculated” part becomes crucial. Aries’ impulsive nature can sometimes lead to rushing headfirst into situations without proper planning. Think of a ram charging towards a tempting patch of grass, oblivious to the potential dangers lurking around.

Here’s how to maintain balance:

Research Before You Leap: Before getting swept away by your newfound entrepreneurial spirit, conduct thorough research. Understand the market, analyze potential risks and rewards, and develop a clear plan of action.

Seek Expert Advice: Don’t be afraid to consult with experienced professionals or mentors. Their guidance can help you navigate the complexities of your venture and mitigate potential pitfalls.

Embrace Calculated Risks, Not Recklessness: Taking calculated risks is a fundamental part of business growth. However, there’s a fine line between calculated and reckless. Use your Venusian charm and finesse to assess risks objectively, only venturing into situations with a well-defined strategy for success.

By harnessing the assertive energy of Aries while maintaining the strategic planning of Venus, you can leverage this transit to turn bold ideas into thriving ventures.

Financial Flair with a Competitive Edge: Investing with Venusian Fire in Aries

Venus, the planet of love and beauty, typically steers us towards indulging in the finer things. We might treat ourselves to luxurious experiences, invest in timeless pieces, or simply appreciate the finer things in life. However, when fiery Aries enters the picture, this Venusian indulgence takes on a more competitive and action-oriented twist.

From Retail Therapy to Investment Savvy:

The usual urge to splurge on that designer bag might still be present, but a stronger pull towards financially empowering activities will emerge. This transit ignites a desire to see your money grow and work for you. Here’s how this financial flair manifests:

The Rise of the Side Hustle: The entrepreneurial spirit of Aries awakens a desire to create additional income streams. This could be the perfect time to launch that side hustle you’ve been dreaming of, whether it’s monetizing a hobby, offering freelance services, or starting a small online business.

Calculated Moves in the Market: The Venusian influence on investments gets a makeover. While Venus usually favors stable, long-term investments, the boldness of Aries encourages you to explore options with higher growth potential. This could involve diversifying your portfolio with stocks in innovative companies or exploring calculated ventures like angel investing.

Remember, Responsible Risk is Key:

It’s important to remember that responsible risk-taking is a world away from reckless gambling. Don’t be tempted to throw your money into the first flashy opportunity that comes your way. Here’s how to maintain a balanced approach:

Do Your Research: Before investing, conduct thorough research. Analyze the potential risks and rewards, understand the market trends, and ensure the investment aligns with your overall financial goals.

Start Small & Diversify: If you’re venturing into unfamiliar territory, start small and diversify your investments. This way, you can limit potential losses while still experiencing the thrill of potentially higher returns.

Seek Professional Guidance: Don’t be afraid to consult a financial advisor before making any major investment decisions. Their expertise can help you navigate complex financial instruments and develop a personalized investment strategy.

Think of yourself as a Venusian investor with an Aries twist. You appreciate the finer things in life, but you’re also driven to make your money work for you. By channeling your financial gusto towards calculated investments and strategic ventures, you can leverage this transit to build long-term wealth and achieve your financial goals.

Who Will Feel the Heat Most?

While everyone will experience this transit to some degree, some zodiac signs will be particularly affected:

Fire Signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius): Get ready to shine! This transit fuels your natural confidence and leadership qualities. Network aggressively, don’t be afraid to chase ambitious goals, and watch your business flourish.

Air Signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius): Your innovative ideas and communication skills are in high demand. Collaborate with fire signs to bring their bold visions to life.

Libra: Normally diplomatic Libra might find themselves being more assertive in negotiations. Channel this newfound confidence to secure those lucrative deals.

Harnessing the Venusian Fire: Striking a Balance for Success

Venus in Aries presents a unique opportunity to propel yourself toward your financial dreams with a potent blend of passion, confidence, and strategic action. Here’s how to harness this powerful energy and turn it into a recipe for business success:

Embrace the Fire, But Don’t Get Burned:

Ignite Your Passion: This transit is a time to reconnect with the spark that ignited your entrepreneurial spirit in the first place. What are you truly passionate about? How can you translate that passion into a thriving business venture? Let your enthusiasm be the driving force behind your actions.

Fuel Your Confidence: The assertive influence of Aries bolsters your belief in yourself and your ideas. Don’t be afraid to showcase your unique talents and confidently present your vision to potential partners or investors. This newfound confidence will be infectious, attracting others to your cause.

Channel Your Drive into Action: Venus in Aries thrives on action. Don’t let your ideas languish in the realm of “what ifs.” Develop a clear plan of action, set achievable goals, and take concrete steps towards achieving them. Remember, even small, consistent steps forward lead to significant progress over time.

Temper the Fire with Strategic Planning:

Don’t Confuse Passion with Recklessness: While passion is essential, it needs a strategic partner: planning. Before diving headfirst into any venture, conduct thorough research, analyze competitors, and develop a clear roadmap for success.

Refine Your Venusian Charm: Venus is the master of diplomacy and collaboration. Use this charm to build strong relationships with potential partners, investors, and clients. Focus on win-win scenarios and leverage your natural charisma to create a network of support.

Embrace Calculated Risks: Calculated risk-taking is an essential part of business growth. However, impulsive decisions can lead to disaster. Use your Venusian finesse to objectively assess risks and only take calculated steps with a well-defined strategy for mitigating potential losses.

The Art of Balance:

The key to harnessing the Venusian fire lies in balance. Let your passion fuel your drive, but don’t let it cloud your judgment. Channel your confidence into assertive action, but anchor it with strategic planning. Remember, the Venusian charm is a powerful tool for building relationships and collaborating with others. By combining the fiery spirit of Aries with the strategic finesse of Venus, you can create a winning formula for business success under this astrological influence.

#business astrology #business horoscopes #astrology updates #astro #astrology facts #astro notes #astrology #astro girlies #astro posts #astrology community #astrology observations #astropost #astronomy #astro observations #astro community

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eerna · 4 months

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Why do you think Cardan took offence when Jude told him to play the bawd with Nicasia? I mean he was always hooking up with courtiers so it ain’t like he was celibate in the name of their unresolved feelings, did he want her to be jealous and was pissed that she seemed not to be?

Bro Nicasia straight up did the devil's tango with his best friend, at his own party, in his own bedroom, while he was downstairs, effectively breaking his heart into infinity, and Jude asked him to go back to her. Then there's the fact that he didn't like the idea of manipulating someone's feelings like that (as evident by the fact that he feels really really bad afterwards). But yeah based on the context we can safely assume it was also a healthy dose of "how DARE you ask me to seduce this other girl when you and I are in a DELIGHTFUL situationship" loloolololol

#eernask #eernanon #eernask talk tfota #cardan and nicasia are sooooooo interesting to me. i love them.#my journey with liking each of their characters is completely tangled with the way they see each other

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eluminium · 3 months

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now that the Hot Ones Arizona Dads stream is more common knowledge due to the "hoh my god" impulse clip i need to point out that while impulse was literally crying tango was????? high????

(ACTUAL SCREENSHOTS FROM THE VOD)

like my god brother what was in that sauce. impulse has tears in his eyes while Tango looks like he just took a big fat smoke

#impulsesv #tangotek #arizona dads #irl hermits #if you're wondering how skizz was #he was just the pinecle of silly faces #he was going all in #dose of impulse #dose of tango

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theworstbiscet · 5 months

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He's cutting glass can you blame him!?

#hermitshipping #hermitshipblr #demon impulse #impulsesv fanart #dose of skizz #skizzleman fanart #tango tek #blaze tangotek #tangotek fanart #cuddling #the perks of having ovens as boyfriends #mister joker

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thatonehomosexual79 · 10 months

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Ok hear me out- 3rdLife Flower Husbands but..swapped roles- Scott dies first and Jimmy has to take revenge for his husband but Jimmys not the smart one their still the same but Scott dose different things like he dose Tangos Lava game first and dies and he messes with Grians trap first and dies and he goes in the bunker and dies- idk he could have his own version of the Canary curse or something idk just what if Jimmy had to deal with a dead husband and the lily on the grave is a blue Lilly instead of a red one- just a thought

don’t mind any spelling mistakes in this I’m tired

#flower husbands #minecraft #jimmy solidarity #scott smajor #3rd life #mcyt #third life #3Lsmp #trafficshipping #traffic series

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ice-cap-k · 4 months

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Just Gold: CH2

Soooo, I forgot to cross-post here that I've written a chapter 2 for the team ranchers au fic I wrote up back in October. Tango's a dragon. Jimmy's a bird. Good fun.

Read it on AO3: Just Gold

Chapter 1 on Tumblr

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Jimmy was a Phoenix.

That's not to say he was very good at being a phoenix, but that was what he was. Phoenixes were supposed to be all about death and rebirth and eternal life. It’s hard to be good at the ‘eternal life’ portion of the job, though, when he keeps dying all the time.

Not like most phoenixes, though. There was almost never a cycle of burning to ash at a ripe old age and emerging as a newly hatched chick from the ashes. Even when he literally burned to death. He never got that far. It was more like he just woke back up having never aged or unaged a day. That wasn’t normal for his kind, but he supposed that after so many repeated deaths so close together over such an extended period of time, he must have somehow stunted his growth. Ungrowth? Aging, maybe? Whatever it was supposed to be, it was messed up for him.

It had its ups and downs. Dying wasn’t necessarily pleasant, but at least he still came back. He always came back… eventually. And unlike other phoenixes, he didn’t have to deal with the crippling discomfort of old age, or the helplessness of reverting back to a chick. But he also could never grow back the brilliant plumage that people associated with his kind. The bright yellow feathers he was left with made him look no different than a larger than average canary.

To be honest, he was a little self-conscious about it.

It was partially his fault, as much as he hated to admit it. He was pretty accident-prone. Bird brains, ya know? It was hard living in a world with glass windows. You’d think after all these years he would have learned a thing or two about self-preservation.

But here’s the thing about immortality, when you know that nothing can actually do any permanent damage, you start to lose sight of the inherent threat. And when you don’t notice a threat, it’s easy to underestimate the world around you. And to overestimate yourself.

Case in point, Jimmy’s newest friend was a dragon.

Dragons are meant to be big scary beasts with razor-sharp claws and fangs. They were meant to be merciless, and prideful, and very very dangerous.

It never really occurred to Jimmy that Tango could be all of those things… Well, at least not until he watched Tango burn over a dozen people to ash. So yeah, now he supposes Tango could be all those things.

But what he first saw when the golden dragon came crashing through his nest at the base of the mountain, after the initial annoyance began to fade, was someone suffering from the kind of bad luck he was all too familiar with. Someone who wouldn’t come back from the fraying edges of death like he would have.

Fortunately, Jimmy was still a phoenix.

He had a long memory that reached back eons across his many previous lives. And in one such life, there had been an old ranch not too far from here. One large enough that the dragon could hide indoors. One that was out of sight of the nearby village. One that Jimmy knew had been left vacant.

Someone with a healthy dose of self-preservation probably would have kept their distance until the dragon awoke, so as not to startle it into attacking. Or maybe they would have pointed the poor beast in the direction of shelter and been on their way. If they were feeling really reckless, they might have tested to see if the dragon would have let them help it get up, or bandage some of its many wounds.

Not Jimmy. If Tango had burned him or clawed him off or rolled over and crushed him, he would have just come back anyway. And cleaning wounds or helping the dragon leverage itself up wasn’t in the phoenix’s wheelhouse at the moment. Tango was so big compared to the phoenix that Jimmy could fit in the palm of his hand comfortably. And what would he stem the blood flow with? His feathers? He didn’t have nearly enough to go around.

Of course, Tango didn’t do any of those things when he woke up. He had done nothing to hurt Jimmy, except maybe the Phoenix’s pride when the dragon tried to shoo him away like a common pigeon.

And while he didn’t have to go with Tango, Jimmy wanted to go back to the ranch with the dragon. The old building housed a lot of fond memories. That was one reason. The other was Tango himself.

The truth was, Jimmy had been setting up his nest at the base of that mountain because he knew that people were nearby. Maybe not necessarily a giant gold and red dragon, but the humans of the village weren’t too far away. Phoenixes worked best in a flock. Especially Jimmy. He could handle being on his own, sure, but he thrived amidst others. And what a ‘flock’ looked like to Jimmy had changed over the lifetimes. Sometimes that meant coexisting with humans. Sometimes it meant flying with large groups of your more typical, non-magical birds. Sometimes a flock was only him and one other, and sometimes it was a large group of friends and family. He had been looking for his next flock. Had been planning on finding a nice family to settle down with for a while and play the part of a typical pet canary.

And then came Tango.

Really, dragons and phoenixes were pretty similar if you think about it. Depending on how you define immortality, both species were technically immortal. Dragons could live forever as long as they weren’t killed. And sure, Jimmy died all the time, but death wasn’t permanent for him. A phoenix couldn’t breathe fire, but they still had the same fire in their belly that dragons did. They both could fly. They both could burn. They both could bleed gold…

According to that train of thought, dragons were practically big scaly phoenixes in their own right.

And as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.

______________________________________________________________

“Tango Tango Tango TANGO TANGO TANGO!!!”

The lump of stone is heavy in Jimmy’s claws. He’s not used to feeling so imbalanced while flying. Not for this long. He kept having to remind himself that it would be worth the effort once he saw the look on his buddy’s face.

That doesn’t make the uneven strain on his wings better, though. It’s so bad, he nearly missed the window entirely. The backside of his wing brushed against the wooden frame. A stray splinter caught at his coverts. There’s a painful twinge as a few feathers are pulled loose and he over-corrects, sending him spiraling to the floor inside.

The little bird lands in a messy heap on the floorboards, losing his grip on the pretty rock. It went rattling across the floor in front of his beak.

He tested his toes, gingerly flexing each one to make sure he hadn’t broken anything in the crash. Nothing appeared out of place outside of a few wisps of broken yellow feathers. That would probably leave a bruise or two, but nothing more severe. Jimmy wasn’t about to die this time around. Even the rock looked completely intact after its little tumble.

He had landed in the old ranch house kitchen. It looked warm and inviting in the late evening haze, despite the unused furniture strewn across the floor. The smell of smoke still clung to the walls and floor. Enough time had passed that the uncomfortable burn of brimstone had begun to fade. The ruined walls had been stripped away and patched up with new oak and spruce timber. The smell of the hewn wood boards mixed with the lingering scent of ash. It almost reminded him of sitting alongside a nice warm bonfire under the stars on a cool summer night.

“Tango?”

The dragon wasn’t answering, but something was creaking nearby. Floorboards groaned. Hinges squeaked. Jimmy had a good idea of where his friend could be, but he wasn’t about to go flying around indoors while carrying that stone around. So he hopped to his feet and took flight. The kitchen floor was as good a place as any to leave it for now.

“Can you hear me, buddy? I brought you something?”

With the slightest shift of his wingtips, he banked around an open archway into the living room. Sure enough, there was Tango. The dragon had his back to him. His claws scraped at the inside of a makeshift hopper he had managed to fashion out of an old shovel head and a little fire-breath metalworking. Looked like something had gotten stuck in the sorting system again.

“I can’t believe this. This is ridiculous,” Tango was saying as Jimmy landed on his favorite perch; one of the ridges of the dragon’s right horn. It was just so nice and warm; glossy and easy to nestle against. It shifted as Tango tried to look up at him, his head tilting to compensate for the slight weight change. “Oh! Hey Jimmy.”

“Hey, I’m back. How’s the progress coming along?”

A wisp of smoke wafted out of Tango’s nostrils. He turned back to the funnel in his claws. “Well, it was going pretty fantastic for a while there until this thing decided to jamificate the whole operation.” Jimmy tightened his grip on the horn as the dragon beneath him let out a sigh. The delicate swirls of smoke turned into a turbulent stream as he breathed in then out. “These quick fixes just aren’t cutting it.”

“Quick fixes?” Jimmy chuckled. “Tango, you know you can take all the time in the world, right? Automatic sorting will be nice and all, but we don’t absolutely need it right now. We barely got the house patched up. The barn’s not even rebuilt yet.”

If anything, the sheer amount of work that he had managed over the last few days had been impressive. With the barn gone, the two had taken shelter in the farmhouse. In that time, Tango had thrown himself into making the place as easy to live in as possible. The ruined portions of the wall had been stripped away and replaced. A door had been renovated so that there was an entrance large enough for the dragon to pass through. Bedrooms had been ransacked and rearranged so that they had a place to sleep at night. For Tango, that meant a padded stretch of floor space for him to curl up in. For Jimmy, a simple shelf with a nest he had put together all on his own.

And then there were the projects! The redstone projects were in every room. The sorting system, a trash dispenser, a line of automatic cooking furnaces. Whatever materials he and Tango had gathered into a tiny hoard while the dragon had been grounded were gone, put to use in whatever idea his friend had thrown himself into.

But they hadn’t touched the barn.

Jimmy could tell that the memory of the attack was still a bit of a sore spot for Tango. Sometimes, the barn served as a reminder. Even after all the bodies had been cleared away.

The stream of smoke coming from Tango’s nostrils petered out. He could hear the dragon's claws clicking against the shovel head as it turned in his claws. Gold wings still trussed up in their splints stretched ever so slightly, nearly knocked over a dusty grandfather clock they had shoved into the corner of the living room. The contact was enough to make Tango wince beneath him.

“You’re right,” Tango relented. He placed the funnel down on the hardwood floor at his feet. It rolled unevenly away to bump against one of the chests. “There’s not enough room for us here.”

The feathers along Jimmy’s shoulders puffed up. “Us? Excuse me. I find this place rather cozy. I think what you meant to say is that there’s not enough room for the two of us.” He almost tented his wings to make himself bigger. A show of fluffed feathers and bravado as if he could square up against the massive creature beneath him, but his friend wouldn’t be able to see that. Not as long as he was perched on the horn. “I’m a big man. The big man!”

There was a jolt below as Tango shook his head. The sudden movement knocked Jimmy’s feet out from under him. With a shrill cry, he went tumbling down the glittering gold slope of Tango’s head until he skittered to a halt hanging halfway from his nose. Yellow wings stretched and pressed against scales as his feet dangled uselessly over open air. “TANGO! HELP!”

“You know you can fly, right?” the dragon huffed, a smile evident in his voice. Still, he reached up and scooped Jimmy up in his claws.

“Y-yeah. Of course I do,” he sputtered, adjusting his jostled feathers back into place. It took a bit of time, considering how ruffled they were from the tumble. The wave of embarrassment washing over him did not help.

“Sure thing, buddy.” The corners of Tango’s mouth pulled up for a moment, before his head swung back and forth to take in his surroundings. “You’ve got a point, though. This place isn’t big enough for us. I should just settle down until my wings finish healing. It’s not like I have to wait much longer.” As if to illustrate his point, he shuffled his wings against his back. He didn’t recoil from the movement. His eyes didn’t crinkle at the corners from strain. He seemed fine.

The only apparent problem was that there wasn’t enough room to risk spreading them out. Just that little motion knocked a faded family portrait off the wall with a thumb claw.

It had been more than Tango had been able to manage without wincing in pain a couple of weeks ago. The membrane between the wing fingers had healed over a while ago. Dull scars pitted the skin, stubborn reminders of how badly the dragon had been hurt. The bones were less obvious, but beneath the scales and muscle, they were well on their way through the healing process. Tango had been good about keeping them still and letting them mend. And when he had been tempted to put pressure on them early and take a risk, Jimmy had made sure he was there and ready to give him a solid peck upside the head to chase those thoughts away.

“You… you want to leave?” The question hung in the empty air. There was a moment of silence. Not even the grandfather clock ticked with the passing seconds. They had never bothered to wind it.

Eventually, Tango shrugged. “It’s an option. Beats accidentally busting this joint up. Feels like I’m trying to put a square peg through a round hole, and I’m the peg.” He held his claw up to his head for Jimmy to hop back up onto his horn. The small bird gratefully settled down against his perch while Tango reached down to scoop the picture off the hardwood floor. He watched the two smiling faces centered in the frame as Tango hung it back up on the wall. One a woman. One a man. Both familiar to the phoenix.

When the dragon’s claws pulled away, the frame was crooked. “This place is made for humans.” There was a sad note in his voice. Something distant. Something angry. A shiver ran down Jimmy’s spine as he thought of men on fire. People rendered down screaming smudges of light on a dark night.

He didn’t like where that train of Tango’s thought seemed to be going. “Or human-sized people,” Jimmy blurted in a rush, trying to bring the conversation around to something more his speed. Something that didn’t involve Tango leaving. Or humans. “Or me-sized birds.”

“Or that,” the dragon agreed with a snort.

“You know, we could get back to finishing up the barn. It was a lot of fun. You know, before it burnt down… And there was a lot more room for the both of us.”

Tango’s head swayed thoughtfully. Jimmy rocked along with him, shifting with the movement instinctually. “Yeah, we could do that,” Tango hummed. They turned towards the door. “That’s another option.”

“I say we just focus on getting the roof back up and then worry about the walls after.”

“That’s not going to protect us from much.”

“I’m not concerned.”

“Well of course you’re not, mister ‘I can’t die.’”

“Hey, I don’t appreciate that coming from you, mister ‘immortal.’ You very well know I can die.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“EXCUSE ME?!”

By now, Tango had lumbered back into the kitchen. It was the only way he could go to get to the only door big enough for him to fit through. There was the stone in the middle of the floor, right where Jimmy had left it. “Here I am, all excited, bringing you a gift, even,” he twittered, alighting from his perch. This time, the little bird landed on the floor with much more grace and intention next to the glittering red gift. “And you’re bad-mouthing me. I will not stand for such slander.”

Jimmy watched with satisfaction as Tango’s eyes glittered. He had just noticed the large chunk of redstone. “Wait-a-minute…” The dragon had to hunker down, practically resting his head on the floor so that they were eye level. “Where did that come from?”

“I found it.” Pride warmed Jimmy over from head to tail tip. Chest feathers puffed out as he pushed the rock forward with one foot. “Had to go pretty far out for it to. We’ve picked the nearby valley and mountain clean, but I know how much you’ve been wishing for more. You practically used up everything we were using for your temporary hoard, so I brought you back the biggest piece I could find.”

There had been more past the villages, but Jimmy hadn’t been physically equipped to tackle an entire ore vein, even if it was on the surface. Mining was out of the question, and what was readily available was usually no bigger than fine grains of dust. What was he supposed to do with dust? Sweep it up with his wings? But this! This he could bring back on his own.

“And it’s for me?!?”

He gave the rock another tap with his clawed toes. It rocked, then rattled and rolled to its side. “Well, I sure ain’t gonna use it.”

“Oh my gosh. I don’t even know what to say.” With careful claws, Tango plucked the stone off the floor. He held it gingerly, like he was afraid he was going to break it. Knowing Tango’s strength, it was entirely possible he could have crushed it to dust if he wanted to. “Thank you, Jimmy.”

It felt good. It felt good to see Tango smile like that. “Don’t worry about it. Just use it towards something cool, ya hear?”

He nodded. “I don’t even know what I’d do with it. Or if I’d even do anything with. I think I’m just gonna hold onto it for now.” Then, to Jimmy’s horror, he tucked it into one of the folds of his bandages.

“No!”

Tango whipped his head around, eyes wide, pupils shrunk down to hairline slits, thrown utterly off guard by Jimmy’s outburst.“What- What? What?? WHAT?!?”

“No. No. NO,” he repeats unhelpfully. “You’re not putting it there,” he chirped. “That’s just asking to aggravate your injury. I’m not letting you go and do that.”

The phoenix hopped towards the dragon, who scrambled away with wide eyes. Considering their size difference, it would have been a comical sight to see the little bird scaring the dragon. But Jimmy wasn’t laughing. He was too concerned for that.

“But I-”

“No buts!”

“Fine!” Tango still looked a bit baffled as he pried the rock back out from a layer of gauze.

It had only gone beneath the first layer of clean linen. There were plenty of layers that would have separated the rock from skin and scale. There were also plenty of spare bandages to replace it if necessary. As far as the phoenix was concerned, it still wasn’t worth the risk.

“I’ll just stash it in my nest or something instead,” the dragon huffed. “Just gotta find a spot where I won’t roll over and crush it first.”

“You don’t have to do that. Why don’t we find you something to help you carry it? A safe place to put it until you decide.”

The sharp scales making up the ridge of his eye raised in a way that Jimmy thought looked uncomfortable, what with all those sharp edges. Tango made no sign that it was uncomfortable in any way, though. “You’ve got something in mind?”

“I’ve got an idea.” Jimmy bounced forward, craning his neck so he could see past his friend through the kitchen door. There was a trapdoor in the hallway ceiling. Cobwebs dusted the corners and the wood looked warped and faded from years of disuse, but it was still there. “If memory serves me correctly, I bet ya there’s something in the attic we can use.”

“The attic?” Tango turned, following Jimmy’s gaze to the hatch in the ceiling. “Oh no way. I’m never going to fit through that.”

“That’s why you’ve got a big strong man like me to help.” With a sweep of his wings, Jimmy took off. “Mind lifting the door for me a smidge, though?”

He was too busy circling the hall to get a good look at Tango’s expression, but he could still hear his friend’s voice. “Will you even be able to see up there?”

“Sure I will.”

A golden tail snaked its way to the ceiling, pushing the trapdoor open a few centimeters. That was all Jimmy needed. With a twitch of his tail and a twitter, he pulled his wings in tight and swooped through the opening. Almost immediately, he crashed headfirst into the long thin wires of an old bird cage.

Bam!

“What was that?! Is everything alright?”

“Fine! It’s fine Tango!” It was fine. There were a few more bruises added to the number he already had from crashing into the kitchen, but his wings weren’t broken and he hadn’t hit his head. Another potential death avoided. Another win in his book.

The birdcage was ruined, though. It had toppled to its side after the impact and rolled into a forgotten rat trap. He looked it over as he settled feathers back into their places. There were massive dents in the wires now. One gap was big enough for someone his size to easily pass through.

The sight sent a twinge through his chest. What a shame.

“Could you hold the door for me, Tango? I need a minute to look around.”

“Yeah. I got it.”

“Thank you!”

Well, there was no reason to dwell on an old cage. It hadn’t been used in years anyway. Instead, Jimmy turned his attention to the rest of the attic. Trunks and boxes and chests, oh my. The space was piled high with more junk than he recalled. The abandoned items were dusty from years of neglect. It made what should have been a brightly colored, overstuffed room feel dull and hollow.

Again, there was no reason to dwell on that now. The old inhabitants were long gone. It was him and Tango now. So Jimmy flew, passing over a dress form with a long wedding gown and a crate painted with a hot air balloon. He instead began his search with the piles of boxes on the other side of the room.

_____________________________________________________________

Night had fallen.

Jimmy felt nice and snug in his nest. It was perched in the Y-bend of the support beams holding up the newly built barn roof. If you could call it that. Slats of timber had been screwed together and raised onto the supports at an angle. There weren’t any shingles or insulation to keep the water out if it were to start raining. There definitely weren’t any walls. Tango was right, it wouldn’t protect them from much. It wasn’t much, but it was still a lot for a day’s work.

At least it was a nice night outside. Almost like they were sleeping under the stars. The twinkling lights were just visible through the spaces where walls would eventually go up. And it was spacious. Jimmy didn’t have to try very hard to coax his friend into sleeping there for the night. He had a feeling that the dragon hadn’t been excited about spending another night cooped up in one of those too-small bedrooms. In a show of solidarity, he had even helped the dragon carry his nest out. That is, if ‘helped’ meant ‘asked Tango to do it.’ What could he say? Tango could carry the whole thing in his claws. If Jimmy had tried doing it himself, he would have had to carry it twig by twig.

Still, the dragon hadn’t seemed to mind. He was in good spirits, curled up beneath Jimmy in the bedding they had pulled from the linen closet. The leather coin pouch Jimmy had found in the attic was tied around one of his wrists, the redstone rock nestled inside.

“Okay, my turn,” he was saying. With one claw, he traced a line from one star to another, to another, and another as if connecting the dots.

Jimmy followed the motion, trying to find a pattern in the movements. “Looks like a triangle with a line down the middle. Is that supposed to be one of your hoppers?”

Tango shook his head. “I was going more for a cross shape. I’m also ninety-nine percent certain that it’s a real constellation I’m pointing at. Come on. Try again.” He traced the line of stars once more. Jimmy’s head twitched, following its path intently. Left, right, center, a small swipe up, and then a long trail down. A real constellation, huh? He’d never been very good with those. He wasn’t some lowly pigeon that had to worry about keeping track of directions.

Wait a minute…

“Is it a bird?”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner!” With a grin, Tango knocked his tail into the base of the Y-beam. The shockwave made Jimmy’s nest shiver around him. “Pretty sure it’s supposed to be a hawk or something, but I don’t remember the name of it.”

“Well, don’t look at me,” he said, pushing the twigs back into place. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about that sort of thing.”

“Really?”

Jimmy peered over the edge of his nest. There was Tango, staring up at him with red eyes brimming with curiosity. His friend tilted his pointy head as if seeing him from a new perspective would help him understand. “Well, yeah,” he mumbled. “I’ve never really needed it.”

“Then how’d you navigate?”

He didn’t. Jimmy shrugged his wings, a motion that probably wasn’t visible to the dragon below. Not over the ledge of his nest. “Usually my other flock mates handled that.”

“Flock?”

“I’m a bird, Tango. That shouldn’t be so weird.”

“I don’t know! You’re the first Phoenix I've met. For all I know, you’re all meant to be hermits.” With that, Tango pushed himself up to a seat in his makeshift bed. Bandaged wings trailed at his sides as he craned his neck back to get a better look at Jimmy. “Besides, you’ve never talked about a flock before. Where are they now?” Scales scraped the bare dirt as the dragon worried at it with his claws. “I’m not keeping you from them, am I?”

“Of course not,” Jimmy exclaimed. He almost laughed at the thought. “Far from it.”

Those big red eyes narrowed at him. “I don’t understand.”

Jimmy wanted nothing more than to sink further into his nest out of sight. Of course Tango wouldn’t get it. It's not like Jimmy had ever talked about it. It was his own fault of course, but had his reasons. The main one being that it had simply never come up in conversations. Another one was that he had gotten his hopes up about Tango sticking around, and with it came the fear that if he voiced his feelings about flocks, it would only make things awkward and ensure Tango would leave. Now he wasn’t sure what to do with the sudden rush of self-consciousness. “Sorry. I guess this is kind of confusing. What I mean is, I don’t really have a flock right now. Not anymore.”

“Oh…”

A shadow passed over Tango’s eyes and Jimmy realized that his wording probably hadn’t been the best. “It’s not like anything bad happened to them,” he quickly added, trying to set the record right before his friend got the wrong idea. “It’s just, every so often, time passes and you’ve gotta move on. Kinda comes with the territory of being tangentially immortal when everyone else around you isn’t, you know?”

Tango blinked. “So it’s not a flock of phoenixes, like you?”

“Nah.” Jimmy waved his question off with a flick of his wingtip. “I haven’t flown with my kind for a very long time. I guess flock might be the wrong word for what I’m trying to say. I’ve lived with flocks made up of birds, sure, but I’ve also stayed with people. Humans. All sorts. Could probably call it family, or friends, but ‘flock’ feels right. Like it works the best for what I mean.”

He expected Tango to start shooting off more questions, or to laugh at him. Maybe even squint at him with those brightly colored eyes as if that could help the dragon figure him out. To his surprise, his friend instead looked back at the farmhouse through one of the many gaps in the barn’s foundation. His wings slumped to the ground as he let himself fall back into his bedding. “Humans, huh?” While it was technically a question, there was no hint of curiosity in his voice. If anything, it sounded strained.

The two sat in silence. Tango stared out at the other building, tail-tip twitching, and Jimmy picked himself over to the edge of his nest, not sure what to do or say. Now he’d gone and done it. This was exactly the type of reaction he had been trying to avoid. At least since the barn burned down. The little bird wasn’t sure what else to do, so he decided to fill the silence himself.

“They’re not all like that, buddy. I swear. And the ones I hung out with…” Jimmy found his own gaze drifting towards the barn house as well. It had changed so much but was still so similar. “They’re long gone. I promise you. And even if they weren’t, I can also promise you that they weren’t the type to go around harassing folks like us.” He blinked and saw green eyes and a cheeky smile in the empty space behind his eyelids. “Well, not like those fools who showed up here,” he corrected himself. “Harmless. Good people living a good life and I was there helping them out. Rooting ‘em on-”

“Hey, Jimmy.”

Jimmy blinked. He shrank down against his nest a little lower. “Yeah?”

Tango didn’t look at him. Just kept his eyes locked on the farmhouse, his head propped up on a lump of fabric. “Is that how you knew about this place? When you first found me? Is this your human friends’ home?”

The little bird sighed. “Yeah.”

“What were they like?”

Oh. “Um, really nice actually,” Jimmy twittered. “There were two of them. You know that portrait in the living room, right?”

“Mmhmm.”

“That was them. The man, the- uh- the one with the green streak in his hair, he liked to annoy me. Kept reminding me I was small and rubbed it in my face, but he also threatened to punch a guy in the face for almost breaking my wing. He had a big head, but he was a really good friend…

“And the woman with the pink hair, that was his wife. She was the one who found me. I had just gotten tossed around in a nasty storm. Wasn’t pretty. I was probably just as hurt back then as you were when I found you. She picked me up and took me back here. Took care of my bandages and gave me plenty of seeds to eat while I was on the mend. We got along really well. It was just how I’d imagine having a sibling is like.”

“And they knew what you were?”

Jimmy couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped his beak. “Yeah. Yeah. They thought I was a normal bird at first, just like you. Didn’t take them long to realize that wasn’t the case after I started talking.” Another thing they had in common with Tango. “They were good flockmates once they figured it out, though.”

“I see…”

Was that an invitation to talk more? Or a dismissal? Jimmy couldn’t tell. He wasn’t sure what to say. He could talk about old memories of this house. Of the ranch. Of the people inside. Would it help? Would it only make things worse? Tango didn’t say anything else, either. He just kept looking at that farmhouse, away from Jimmy.

More silence. More of that infuriating quiet that made it feel like time had stopped around them. There wasn’t even a breeze. No whisper of grass or whistle of wind. Empty. Jimmy hated it. And after what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than a minute, he decided he had enough of it.

The little bird jumped off of the beam to glide down to Tango. At the last second, he pulled in his wings and dropped, clawed toes catching on Tango’s horn.

“Tango I-”

Jimmy cut himself off. The dragon’s eyes were glistening. Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. Wet streams left streaks from his eyes down to his chin. As soon as he noticed Jimmy looking, he tucked his face beneath his claws.

“Tango, are you alright?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m so sorry Jimmy.” Bright little droplets began to fall from between his claws.

“For what?” The phoenix leaned down closer, patting one wing against his friend’s head. He wasn’t sure if Tango could feel the brush of feathers through the scales, but he hoped that the pressure and motion could comfort him. “What on Earth do you have to be sorry for?”

“I messed up. I lost my temper. I ruined everything.”

“What are you on about? Of course you didn’t.”

“But I did. It’s because of me the ranch burnt down. Here you are telling me that this was your home, that you lived here and had family here and they were humans, and I- And I went messed it all.”

Jimmy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Tango, you’re being silly. They were trying to kill you,” he said, exasperated. “And they were the ones who started the fires.”

“Exactly! They wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for me. They wouldn’t have shot you or ruined your home if it wasn’t for me. I led those people here, and then I killed them. Humans, just like your friends.”

This was ridiculous. Jimmy hopped off the horn. Tango moved his claws away automatically, making room for the little bird to avoid accidentally bumping or crushing him. With the space cleared, Jimmy perched instead on the end of the dragon’s nose so that he could look his friend in those big, teary eyes. “It’s fine, really. And it’s not your fault by a long shot. The ranch, the house, it’s been vacant for years. I haven’t been there for years. Neither have my old flockmates. They’re gone. This hasn’t been home to me for years. Not until I came back here with you. And it’s not because I lived here before. It’s because I’m here with you and these past few weeks have been a blast. And yeah, I’m sad it burned, but I’d rather those guys burn the place down than get you.”

Tango sniffed. The rush of air and smoke nearly knocked Jimmy from his perch. It certainly left his feathers in a mess. But he stood strong as his friend wiped at an eye. “Really?” he asked.

“Really.”

“But- but what about the humans?”

“What about them? Far as I’m concerned, they got what was coming to ‘em.”

Tango’s eyes widened. “But… but I thought… The way you’ve been avoiding talking about the fire, and we don’t ever mention the humans… I thought I really scared you.”

Well…

“I mean, I won’t lie, you’re temper took me by surprise. But you thought I was dead. And like I said, they were out to get you. I don’t hold it against you if that’s what you're thinking. I’m not scared of you.”

Tango seemed to melt beneath him. Massive wings that were once wound against his sides untensed and pooled across the ground. A massive sigh escaped his nose. It was less violent this time, though, sending the oddly comforting smell of bonfire smoke wafting over Jimmy. The guilty glisten in his eyes turned into a reassured glitter. “Oh thank goodness. I thought we were avoiding talking about all this time because I scared you. You would keep mentioning it and then dropping it right away. I felt so guilty all this time, you don’t understand.”

“What? No,” Jimmy huffed, settling his feathers back into place. “Is that really why you’ve been shutting down every time I bring up the fire or humans?”

“Uh… yeah…” he said sheepishly, trying to look away. It was a difficult task, considering Jimmy was right on his nose.

“I thought it was because you didn’t want to think about it. Every time I mentioned it you got that look in your eye and I thought you were still angry at them or something. And then you were talking about leaving today-”

Tango cut him off. “I thought you’d want me out for ruining your place and losing my temper!”

“Of course NOT!” That was the farthest thing from what he wanted. “If anything, I’d hope you might stick around for a while after your wings were healed. It was finally starting to feel like-” Jimmy snapped his beak shut, realizing what he was just about to say. Was it too soon?

“What? What what what?!” Tango asked. He pushed his head forward, trying to lean in, but Jimmy was perched on his nose. The little bird just moved with him. He blinked, realizing his mistake before reaching out with his claws to scoop Jimmy up. “What were you going to say?”

He debated. He warred within himself, thinking so hard there was probably smoke coming out the sides of his head in a similar fashion to the smoke coming from Tango’s nose. If there was ever a time to say it, now was that time.

“It was starting to feel like we were flockmates.”

#Life series #trafficblr #fanfiction #team ranchers #the ranch #jimmy solidarity #solidaritygaming #tango #dragon tangotek #phoenix jimmy #alternate universe - fantasy #alternate universe - dragon #past life #found family

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3000-200-grains-of-salt · 5 months

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au idea: college au bc why not, scar breaks up with grian to be with jimmy and jimmy breaks up with tango to be with scar. tango and grian are left to pick up the pieces and agree to fake date to piss of jim and scar, cue fake dating -> lovers slow burn with a healthy dose copious, insane-person amount of anger and how to deal with it

#I HAD TO GET THIS IDEA OUT. OF. MY. BRAIN.#Maybe i just wanna see how grian/tango would go #Orrrrrrrrrr maybe i just wanna explore anger in characters and how that all works.#i NEEd to see more character studies of chronically ANGRY characters #how their anger manifests itself... in relationships and how it eats you up from the inside #how it blinds you #and how to look beyond the anger #how to let go of your anger enough to take good advice and see what you're *really* feeling #idk.. idk......#can neither confirm nor deny the existence of ~750 words of this very idea already drafted in my notes app........#trafficshipping

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theallenshorefangirl · 6 months

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Savior of Lost Hope Chapter 4

@voidwritesstuff

(Chapter warning blood,guns,abuse, and true tragedy in this chapter,readers beware)

As the group progressed through the maze,they all finally escaped that awful thing. “I thought that maze was never gonna end.” Lucas said out of breath as he shot the last inkblot in the area.”Tell me about it.”Virginia stopped and brushed gravel dust off her dress.”Come on, the entrance to the mansion is up ahead!”

Rosemary's wings switched from organic to a more radio wave frequency.”Careful though the Rainbow chemical,it must be strong in there.” Max was about to kick the door open but it opens on its own.”Woah this place is huge!” Virginia runs past the group and spins at the center of the room.Her fancy Victorian style ghostly dress swishes and sways on the ground.”Spider Lilies to Radio Waves do you read me,is everything ok,over” it was Lazaro,Jerico's brother.”I read you loud and clear Spider Lilies.” Rosemary spoke softly into the radio.”Making sure this worked Over.” “Roger that.Over” Lucas chimed in.They all scattered the whole basement and first floor of the place.It was huge.”We could be lost for hours,and still couldn't find them.” Virginia stopped to catch her breath.

They heard clicking and scraping of something strange hitting the floor,which caused a fear to rise in the small group.They turned around and could see from the top of the stairs a yellowed eyed figure trying to fly,but they all could see his wings were dripping hot asphalt and they all went to go after him but he quickly disappeared.”Was that Allen?” Max huffed.”Definitely him.” Rosemary chimed in.”Well looks like our Icarus was trying to fly to either the skyroof or what looks like a bedroom on the third floor?” Virginia found a blueprint mockup of the house.”Let's go Desmond could be in there too!” They all raced to the third floor and searched the rooms.The radio went off again.

”Dragon's Breath to Tango Flash,Do you copy?” It was Jerico this time.”Copy,something wrong over on your side?” Lucas sounded genuinely worried.”Well I just wanted to make sure you're ok…seen anyone yet?” Lucas took a sigh of relief.”Yeah actually we saw what we are assuming was Allen.” “That's good,I know a certain someone would be happy to hear that news.” Jerico took a sip of a cup of hot chocolate. “Where is Sorrowful Moondust at?” Lucas asked.”She's been asleep since we got here,she's been laying on the cold floor next to Allen's cot.” “As long as you and the others are ok I'll stay strong,use the radio again if you're in trouble or need to check up on us Jer.”Lucas gained a strong confidence boost.”Copy that Tango Flash.Over and Out.”

Rosemary's eyes widened and slowly turned to Lucas.”Wait Zoe is asleep!? Oh no this is my fault!” She began to panic.”What do you mean?” Lucas's eyes widened.”When Jerico,Lazaro and Zoe came over just as we were heading in,and Z said she was having trouble sleeping and I think I gave her a heavy dose of sleeping medication and she could be in here with us…somewhere.” She bit her nail as the radio wings flickered in a panic.

She grabbed the radio.”Jerico this is bad!? You said Z was asleep!?” “What happened to using radio code names?” Jerico responded.”Well I forgot I gave Z some strong sleeping medicine and she could be in here with us,I need you to attach a heat monitor sticky strip and place it on her wrist,we don't need her going into a bad situation and not know where she is!?” Rosemary said in a panic.”Oh great of all the things she's gonna make me worry more about the poor thing.” Lazaro placed a blanket on Z.”Me and Laz will keep an eye on her.” “Thank you both.We gotta go, talk later.” Rosemary clicked off the radio and handed it back to Lucas.

“So there's an unattended person somewhere…Allen go get her.” Allen nodded and dived into an asphalt puddle, Desmond you go and greet the guest.A well dressed male walks out of the shadows as his four white wings dripping Rainbow chemical spread out.”Of course Agent Rainbow.”

It was Desmond,his eyes were black with a red scalea,and his gold rim glasses gleamed in the light.Rainbow disappeared with a huff.The room the group was in goes pitch black and they hear a click of heels of some sort.”Ladies and Gentlemen,please give him a round of a pause your one and only therapist.” Rainbows' voices boomed through the mansion.”Desmond Wales!” Standing on the top of the stairs was Desmond.”Desmond is that you?” Virginia piped up.”Well why won't it be me?” He sounded offended by the comment “Well you look like him but Doc never had any red irises.” Max huffed,the cuffs clacked on his horns*

Desmond Looked at the two.”Where did they go,the radio angel and the cyclops.” His tone of voice shifts from calm to bitter and serious.”We don't know they were just with us a few minutes ago.” Virginia squeaks hiding behind Max.”Yeah honest truth.” Max huffed, almost grabbing the shotgun from his back.Desmond scanned the room before giving Virginia and Max a look of annoyed anger and flew off.”Oh no.” Virginia gave a worried look to Max.”Oh no indeed.” Max seemed nervous.”Oh where are my manners?Inkblots show our guests some gratitude.” Desmond laughed as his voice became quiet.Max and Virginia pulled out their weapons as Inkblots surrounded them.”Max…I'm scared.” Virginia clutched her mirror shard sword.”Stay strong Virginia,we must not give up now!?” Max loaded his shotgun up with fire bullets and held his ground.

Rosemary went looking for either Desmond or Allen and had Lucas look for Zoe.”Dragon's Breath to Tango Flash any luck finding her?” Jerico sounded worried.”Negative can't find her anywhere.” Lucas was becoming deeply concerned and very worried.”I'll update you if I find her alright Dragon's Breath?” He waited for Jer's response.”Alright Tango Flash,over and out.” The radio clicked off.”Over and out.” Lucas mumbled quietly.He then felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck as shielded shooting inkblots shot at him.”Alright you bastards bring it on!” He pulled out his sniper loaded with special green radio bullets that exploded when activated with his modded radio.Rosemary was running around trying to find any of the boys but ended up back in the main entrance of the mansion,and found herself tearing up.The scorched floor from Max's fire bullets and torn and blood stained fabric pieces from Virginia's dress didn't look well to her.”Max! Virginia! Where are you!” No response from the both of them.Rosemary walked up to the next floor only to find what seem to be droplets of blood and more bullet scorch marks.”No,no they have to be somewhere!” She tried to keep her hopes up.

Lucas had his med kit and patched up any cuts from the inkblots from where they shot him.”D…damn things.” he stuttered for a moment before hearing a bubbling sound and blackish brown asphalt could be seen in the light.Lucas quickly and quietly hid in the shadows due to his dark green ghillie suit hid him in the dark.Allen crawled out of the asphalt puddle and looked around his sunken yellow glowing eyes looked and looked around the room,his bone like wings clicked on the floor.Allen shuffled around for about 30 minutes looking in every room for the unattended person and falls backwards into the puddle and disappears.”Holy hell.” Lucas muttered quietly.”I can hear you…Lucas Cole!” Allen's voice sounded vicious but also sounded like he was in pain.”I heard you.” His voice shook as he spoke.Lucas quietly crawls on the floor trying not to get Allen's attention,but he seemed more nearsighted than far sighted in vision so Allen could barely see him.Lucas stood up quietly side stepping into one of the rooms and then used a item from the room he snuck in to throw at the other door to get Allen's attention.”I heard that.” He quickly scurried to the door that made noise and Lucas escaped that area.

Z was outside of the garden maze looking for the others.”Max,Virginia,Lucas Rosemary…where are you all! She had on a moon and starry-like long-loose sleeved dress and ran around looking for them everywhere.”Guys where are you!?” She was panicking and running about.She heard a noise and thought it was one of the people she thought to run into but it was Him and she stumbled backwards.”Ah did the sister to the one man freak show get caught up in something she shouldn't have got into?” Agent Rainbow sneered and then scoffed disappearing into thin air.She gets up and looks around staying alert.While she wasn't looking Rainbow appeared again and sent Allen to attack her.”I'll be inside if you need me.” He walks back inside from the balcony.Allen tossed a orb like object at her that was filled with sleeping gas,she tried to cover her face from it but the sleeves of her dress didn't help,she had grabbed a tiny vile of antidote and tucked it into her hand before her vision went dark.

She had awoken a few hours late,Allen was keeping an eye out for anyone outside the door before walking in.He kneels to get eye level with Z before slowly recognizing it was her.”Z?” Allen said in a more hurt and worried tone.”Allen?” She was still disoriented. ”What have I done…” He hung his head down. ”Allen come here,come close.”Z looked like a ball joint doll the way she was half awake on the floor.Allen quickly got the key from around his neck and unlocked the door and sat in front of Z with the key off his neck. ”Allen,I was so worried about you,I thought you wasn't gonna wake so I came in here to help the others,Rosemary didn't give me medicine to help me sleep,she gave me the same concoction that got them here in the first place and I wasn't gonna let them hurt you.” She grabbed one of his hands with her free hand. “But it is dangerous here,Rainbow and Desmond will hurt you.And maybe even me.” He looked away.Z grabbed his face and turned it to her. “Then why haven't you if you are under his control?” He paused before his eyes widened. “Do me a favor real quick,close your eyes and tilt your head back.” Allen found the request weird but he did just as she said.Z had popped the bottle of the antidote and carefully opened his mouth and poured it in.He lurched backwards before the asphalt disappeared and his single set of wings were more pure white than asphalt and he slowly starts to faded awake.”Z what did you do?” Allen was scared. “You're free from his grasp and you're waking up now.” Z smiled and grasped the key.Allen wanted to say one last thing but he was already waking up.

Jerico and Lazaro look over to Allen's cot and he shot up heavily and panickingly breathing.”What the!?” Both said in unison starting at Allen.”No Z what did you do!?” Allen ran over and looked at the screen.”Don't tell me she's risking herself to save the others.Zoe you're crazy!?” Allen was panicking and pacing the floor with tears in his eyes. “Calm down Allen,tell us everything.” Jerico grasped Allen's shoulder, stopping the man from trying to hyperventilate and pass out.”How about first you take a shower and get you a meal in and then tell us everything that happens.” Lazaro corrected Jerico escorting Allen to the bathroom with a town and a set of his pjs.”You're a pendejo sometimes you know that right?” Lazaro just turns his head and gives Jerico the look of disappointment.”Did you just miss use that word in the sentence just for it to make sense wow.” Jerico slapped Laz.”This is no time for child-like arguments.” She sat down at the desk.Laz was quiet til Allen walked out and into the kitchen.”I made empanadas and some soup if you want anything to eat.”

After Allen ate,he told Jer and Laz everything up until now.Them the radio goes off “Dragon's Breath,Spider Lilies what is going on?” It was Lucas.”Tango Flash you will not believe who's here with us…” Laz nervously spoke.”Who?” Lucas sounded concerned.”It's Asphalt Icarus,he woke up with Zoe's help and she could be in danger!?” Jericho sounded stressed out and worried. “Sunflower deep breaths in and out alright,stay strong,we will find her and hopefully bring her back safely.” Lucas reassured Jerico in a calm sweet tone. “Over and out.” Laz clicked off the radio.

Allen picked up Z and laid her on the cot so she wasn't lying on the cold floor and lays a heavy blanket over her.He noticed Z wasn't wearing her turtleneck and her black pants but a short sleeve shirt and shorts,her scars from where her father abused her could be seen,her arms and neck.and legs had a lot of scars from what Allen had guessed was from a beer bottle. “Is that why she wore long clothing?” Jerico handed Allen a glass of hot chocolate.”She told me about her being abused by her father after her mother died, her father always accusing Z of being the fault of her mother's death when she died of a natural cause.” Allen sat the cup down and quietly sobbed.”After I meet her when she first came to Milton Haven she was scared and had tears, packing a bag of clothes and medication with her.I said she can stay for as long as she likes and I took her in taught her everything she knows.She works morning Homa Mart shifts and babysits Virginia's brother and Max's kid,and helps me at night with the lighthouse.” He pulled his knees to his chest.”And she's like the sister I always wanted.” His eyes were red from crying and his cup of hot chocolate was empty.Jer and Laz both comforted him.

As the storm picked up in Desmond's unconsciousness.Z would run to find Max and Virginia and with luck on her side did and patched up their cuts and bruises with a med kit Allen also left behind.Z's outfit also had a small change the dress now has a gold rim wing shaped shoulder cape that must be Allen is keeping her safe. “I'll help bring Desmond home,I'll be ok…Allen.” Z said with her confidence boosted clutching her fist.

#insoundmindau #savioroflosthopeau #insoundmind savioroflosthopeau #ismsavioroflosthopeau #ismau

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