Look, @taintedidealist, I tried. I even titled the story Cute Baby Animals to start, but ... this is where we ended up ....
“It's called an uglot"
Jester jumped at the voice, but when she spun around (sending the baby animal bounding off to the other side of the pen), it was just Keyleth.
Keyleth had turned out to be super nice and friendly and also a really good drinker? Which had surprised Jester because she was also a super important leader and had done super important things including, apparently, saving the world, like, a long time ago? Basically, Keyleth was super cool and also super nice and Jester loved it.
"Oh hey, Kiki!" She watched the little fuzzy creature bounce wildly around in the dirt. "He's really cute."
Keyleth smiled. "That one's a she. You can tell by the length of the tusk buds. They'll probably grow to be longer than she is right now when she’s an adult."
Jester's eyes went wide. "How big will she get!?"
Keyleth giggled, a sound that still didn't match up with the regal bearing of her form (or maybe it was just how tall she was and how imposing the many colored mantle made her). "Do you want to see?"
"Yeeeees!" said Jester, vibrating in place. "Oh my goodness, do they get huge?"
Keyleth guided Jester through the crowds that wandered the plains fair. They weaved between the large tents and makeshift stalls and the carts piled high with harvest goods. As they came to the other side, the background smell of animal poo grew stronger until, as they pushed through a crowd gathered around a rough makeshift fence, the smell was overwhelming. Sprinkle whined and burrowed deeper into Jester's neck. But while Jester absentmindedly pet him, her eyes were fixed entirely forward just past Keyleth.
Inside the entirely inadequate fence was a massive uglot. It must have stood at least fifteen feet tall and its tusks were indeed longer than the baby had been--at least four feet long. Its fur was carefully groomed and had a bit of a poof to it, but it was also dusty from stomping across the plains and rollicking within the pen. And perched on its neck, one hand tangled in the fur and the other waving in the air as the uglot shook and bucked, was Beau.
Keyleth had pushed her way to the fence and Jester pulled herself up and planted her feet on the bottom rung. It got her closer to Keyleth's height.
Keyleth was leaning against the fence. "I should have known your friend would be involved in this."
Jester's eyes were locked on Beau. The uglot was bucking and shaking and with each movement Beau jolted one way and another. Jester found herself chewing at her bottom lip. "Will she be okay?"
Keyleth smiled calmly. "Oh yes. The uglots are really peaceful. This is more like playing than anything. It looks, well, and feels, more frightening than it actually is. You watch, when she gets knocked off, it will immediately stoop to let her back on."
Keyleth was right. A moment later, Beau went flying over the uglot's head. She stuck a perfect three-point landing and threw a wink across the pen. Jester followed her gaze and saw Yasha standing across the way, just inside the pen. To an outsider she might have looked downright imposing. But Jester saw the slight shadow of a smile on her lips and knew that she was just hiding amusement. Yasha looked frightening, but there was a lovely softness inside her.
The uglot lowered itself on its front legs and gave Beau the opportunity to climb back up, but Beau was encouraging Yasha to take a turn.
Jester opened her mouth to shout something to the two of them, but then snapped her mouth shut. They looked really happy together. Probably better just to let them have their time. She watched Yasha tenderly grip the uglot's fur and climb on board. As the uglot stood up, lifting Yasha high, Jester turned to make a passing comment to Keyleth, but was shocked to see that Keyleth was already watching her.
"Your friends seen happy," she said.
Jester put on a beaming smile. "Yeah, I think they're in love." She made sure the last word had a drawn out, only slightly mocking, noise.
Jester didn't like the knowing shine in Keyleth's eyes.
"It's nice when friends are happy. It's nice when anyone finds love."
Jester nodded enthusiastically. "I'm really happy they found each other. Beau is like my best friend and I'm so glad she's happy. And Yasha is so sweet and she deserves all the happiness! Beau said I could plan their wedding." Jester scrunched up her face. "She was really drunk at the time, but I think it still counts as a promise."
Keyleth was still smiling, but it didn't seem as joyful anymore. She looked away from Jester and watched Yasha ride the uglot. Yasha didn't grin, but her face bloomed bright with happiness.
"You know I had two friends that got married. I was so happy for them. They were good for each other and I could see how much they helped each other."
There was a long pause as the two of them watched Yasha, neither Keyleth nor Jester looking away to even glance at the other.
"I wasn't happy at first. I was, but I wasn't. And I got upset with myself because it felt selfish to not be totally happy for them." Keyleth laughed softly, under her breath. "There were a lot of reasons why a piece of me was upset, but it took me a long time to realize the real one."
Keyleth lapsed into silence again and, after Yasha had been thrown off the uglot and she and Beau had wandered over to the edge and let a new rider take their place, Jester finally had to ask. Her voice was quiet and she almost thought Keyleth hadn't heard her over the din of the crowd. But then Keyleth answered.
"Well, I was in love with her." Keyleth laughed again and this time it was that giggle, high and delicate, but confident, not embarrassed. "Oh that was awkward for so many reasons! And it didn't really matter by the time I realize it, but ...."
Jester glanced over at Keyleth and saw her shrug. Jester's chest felt all wobbly. "You were in love with your friend?"
Keyleth nodded. "Yeah. I never told her either. Well, not like that. That's okay. Crushes happen."
"Oh." Jester squeezed Sprinkle a little too tight, but the little ferret just nuzzled closer. Jester liked that he never left her. He was always there no matter what. "I'm just happy for them."
Keyleth seemed almost nervous: she ducked her head a little and looked like she was hiding behind her hair. "Of course, I didn't mean to--. I just was thinking that if I was a little braver and I was in your situation I might have said something."
Sprinkle scrambled out of Jester's hands and curled up around her neck. Jester couldn't help watching Beau and Yasha as they lingered by the other side of the pen. The way their hands touched just a little where they rested, like they weren't really doing anything, they were just next to each other, but, if you wanted, there might be something more. Jester had always loved the potential in being so close yet not quite admitting what was there. That was always her favorite part of romances: it was so safe to have that closeness but never have to admit it.
That's why Jester didn't ask Keyleth what she meant by “if I was in your situation.” Well, until she realized that the words had already left her lips.
Keyleth was giving her a long look, as if weighing her up, but also weighing up her own bravery. "I--well, it seemed so obvious that--I hope you're not offended, but ... I would have said something … if I had been in love with both of them. Like you."
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I'm almost caught up with A Warm Embrace and keep getting blown away in how you write action. Do you pick out the spells or attacks and then write the flavor in or is there another mode of writing action you prefer?
Hi! Thanks so much for this ask, and for all the wonderful comments you've been leaving; they've been really helping me find the motivation to shake off my writer's block.
When I write a combat scene, I always try to keep the purpose of the combat scene very clearly in mind - that is, the reason I'm showing it in detail and not just saying, "They fought, Beau got seriously injured and had a mental breakdown about it." Usually, it's because I want the combat to show something about the characters involved, so I pick spells and attacks that serve that purpose, though I do also try to internally follow the rules of DnD. To use the Sour Nest fight as an example, I had the bard hit Jester with Dissonant Whispers because Jester had a lot of doubts and fears she'd been avoiding, and I liked the idea of literally weaponizing them against her. It also made her injured enough to demonstrate how much she prioritized the well-being of her friends over her own. I had Fjord use Armor of Agathys because it had a very cool visual to it and helped set up the moment later on where he interposed himself into Yasha's fight, which was necessary to separate the party and start creating an atmosphere of worry and raggedness. And I had Beau use Stunning Strike for the first time because it provided a strong payoff to the emotional turmoil she'd been struggling with throughout the act. It required her to put aside her immediate fears, her sense of inferiority among her formidable friends, and to face down a reimagining of one of her inciting traumas and symbolically overcome it, removing the stranglehold it had established on her emotional state. It also paralleled the Stunning Strike Beau landed in the actual show that was the key to Lorenzo's defeat. (Incidentally, that is one of a number of reasons for that chapter's title. I take a lot of pride in my chapter titles).
The Truth Is In The Echo- a fic by taintedidealist / art by abandonedangel85
Summary:
A string of murders in Storybrooke point toward Regina, but Emma is struggling to believe that the Mayor has turned into the murderous Evil Queen again. Against the town’s wishes Emma works with Regina to clear her name and find the true killer. Spoilers: Set after 2x09 “Queen of Hearts and re-imagines large plot points of 2x10 “A Cricket Game”. No Hook. No Cora. That dried up bean just didn't get restored, darn.
Notes:
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Thank you for making the art to go along with this abandonedangel85, thank you again for picking out my story.
Thank you to the moderators of SQBB, my troupe of friends allowing me to talk vaguely about this story for the summmer, and my beta k8eistrouble for arguing with me, laughing with me, and making this story what it turned into.
Smoke and Mirrors - a fic by taintedidealist / art by mippippippi
Summary:
1930s AU: (No Real Magic, No FTL) As a teenager Regina flees her mother’s dangerous control with a promise of protection from Mr. Gold and his traveling circus. Now an adult and the top-billed ‘Fire Queen’, Regina struggles to draw in a paying crowd during the height of the Dust Bowl. The new addition of Emma Swan as an animal keeper manages to shake up the circus family in more ways than one. In a time where dreams turn to dust and jazz gives way to blues, will Cora finally catch up to her daughter or has Regina never actually managed to escape?
Notes:
For mippippippi.
This story was inspired by the artwork found here Smoke and Mirrors Art by Mippippippi's AO3 Profile and tumblr at Mippippippi Tumblr
I have not had the pleasure to watch Carnivále yet, but know that it is set at the same time and type of place. Any similarities will just make me happy to hear about and realize I really need to watch it finally.
