BONUS ROUND 1

[hso_mods]

Bonus Round 1

Genre-Mixing

Hey, shippers! Welcome to your very first bonus round proper--we hope you have lots of fun with it! This time around we're going to be asking you to mix it up a little--each fanwork posted for this round will be a mish-mash of two different genres, blended together in a delightful incestuous slurry to create an UNSTOPPABLE CREATIVE CONCOCTION--er. Or. Something.

Yeah, we're genre-mixing. That's what we're doing this round.

Rules

1. Submit prompts! Prompts should consist of two different genres and one ship. This cannot be your team's ship! These are worth 5 points each, for a maximum of 100 points per team.


2. Look through the prompts and fill whichever you like!


3. You may not fill prompts for your ship, nor may you fill your own team's prompts.


4. Fills should be posted as replies to the prompts which they are for, following the format below. They may be any medium.

Title Format
If you are starting a new thread, please use this format in your title.
PROMPT: TEAM [YOUR SHIP]
Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team YOU belong to; please use the characters and quadrant, not whatever portmanteau or nickname you've come up with.
If your team name is not in this format and in the title we cannot guarantee that it will be counted.

If you are filling a prompt, use this format in your title.
FILL: TEAM [YOUR SHIP]
Replace [YOUR SHIP] with the name of the team YOU belong to; please use the characters and quadrant, not whatever portmanteau or nickname you've come up with.
If your team name is not in this format and in the title we cannot guarantee that it will be counted.

Posts not using this format in the title will be understood to be unofficial discussion posts, no matter what they contain. They, like all comments on the comm, are subject to the Wank Policy.

Scoring
For prompt posts: 5 points each (maximum of 100 per team)

For fills (as stated here):
First 5 entries in each post: 30 (per entry)
Entries 6-10 in each post: 20 (per entry)
Entries 11-15 in each post: 10 (per entry)
Entries 16+ in each post: 5 (per entry)

All scored content must be created/assembled new for this round.

If you have any questions, please ask them at the FAQ post here, or email them to us (homestuck.shipping at gmail). Otherwise, we cannot guarantee that we will see them in a timely fashion!

Comments

Re: FILL: TEAM ERIDAN<3FEFERI<3SOLLUX<3<ERIDAN

[saccharinesylph]

No problem at all! I kind of giggled when I realized the prompts I wrote both came from the same person.

And thank you!
I've played Fef before with Tentacles. It's sort of like an inverted Cuttlefish. 38)

Re: FILL: TEAM DIRK<3JAKE<3JANE<3ROXY

[ferrrox]

i love this omg

FILL: TEAM GAMZEE♥KARKAT

[sempiternalserpent]

This was a hell of a lot of fun to do!! 8D I hope you like it!!

PROMPT: TEAM EQUIUS<3KARKAT

[cravatsandpsychopaths]

A combination of black and romantic comedy for Aradia<3Sollux

FILL: TEAM Dolorosa <3 Mindfang

[ilony]

FILL: TEAM TEREZI >3> VRISKA

[cest_what]

Ahaha, I’m not sure if this will be funny to ... anyone but me? I tried to write it as true badfic rather than parody. Whatever, I had fun, there’s something cathartic about this style of writing *g*

_______

An abandoned warehouse in a city abandoned by goodness and law, the streets belong to the gangs and there is no light, no hope. A young man with keen eyes haunted with shadows and a trace of stubble on his jaw slips like a ghost through the cracked door of the warehouse. A grey trench coat billows at his ankles in a breeze that caresses his dark hair, tangled and tousled as though fingers have pushed through it again and again as though in the grip of some great painful decision.

A woman looks up, half hidden in the shadows at the back of the warehouse her startled eyes deep pools of cerulean blue. Her mouth falls open, lipstick a blue slash across her lips, her Troll fangs digging small cruel points into her flushed lips. He thinks that her mouth looks like blue ruin like gin.

One hand tightens on a gun in the breast pocket of his trench coat.

“So baby doll it’s come to this” He says huskily, his hand tight on the gun. Jake English is no stranger to pain to anguish but now he’s close to tears she can hear it in his voice, she thinks it means he has relented.

“Jake...” She says. Her dress hugs her hips and flutters over her thighs, cerulean as the sea or cornflowers in a field innocent as she never was, she walks towards the detective with small dainty steps her tiny cobalt blue shoes dainty and cerulean.

“You lied to me it was always about Peixes from the beginning, your plan was to avenge her” He whispers harshly. “You played me, I should congratulate you, you played your part very well”. He can’t bear to look at her lovely face so he looks away over her shoulder into the shadows that stripe the warehouse in this abandoned quarter of the city, he can see the marks of gunfights, bullet holes, this warehouse has seen violent days, this isn’t a good part of the city. “I should have known they would send a blue woman” He whispers admitting his weakness.

“Listen to me” Aranea says urgently. Jake knows if he lets her speak he will weaken so he squeezes his eyes shut, pulls out the gun and shoots. He’s a perfect shot even with his eyes closed.

The shot is the loudest thing he has ever heard except louder is the sound of the woman he loves hitting the dirty floor his eyes spring open swimming with tears. He runs to her side falling to his knees.

Her eyes are open, her sapphire blue cerulean eyelashes flutter as she looks up at him. “Jake...” The femme fatale whispers cobalt blood bubbling on her mouth as she coughs “It’s true I had an agenda ... Meenah ... was my best ... friend ... I wanted ... to avenge her” Her voice is wracked and desperate. Crystalline tears drip from Jake’s eyes his jaw tight. “But ... I changed ... my mind when ... I met you, Jake I never ... betrayed you. I could betray anyone but you ... my ... love.”

“No” He whispers but he knows it is too late. She’s gone. Azure blood spreads in a beautiful deadly pool beneath her shining cerulean. His tears fall he can’t see, he knows he’s made the worst mistake of his life. “I’m sorry I’m sorry” He whispers.

He will never love again. Nobody could ever displace the beautiful cerulean dead girl she will be his ideal as long as he lives. He walks back out into the mean streets of the dark city wearing his pain like a heavy trench coat that weighs him down heavier than a coat ever could it will be with him forever like a cerulean cobalt azure stain on his soul.

A single tear shines on his cheek. There is nobody to see.

Re: unofficial discussion post: delicious

[megaparsecs]

hey i didn't know if you already knew this, but it's just telling me it's deactivated now! D :

Re: FILL: TEAM DAVE<3ROSE<3TEREZI

[megaparsecs]

dirkylus.

that's it that's my response.

Re: FILL: TEAM Dolorosa <3 Mindfang

[dragon_bagon]

Oh. My. How adorabloodthirsty. Thanks for managing to fill my weirdest prompt! This is great!

Re: PROMPT: TEAM JOHN<3VRISKA

[ilony]

Working!

FILL: TEAM DAVE<3KANAYA<3ROSE

[palaumaggot]

Your name is Dirk Strider and you have an airhead for a significant other.

Said significant other tends to run out of the airship and into the towns that your captain stops in for refueling or obtaining new jobs.

“Listen English, we have to go back. The ship is going to leave us here if you keep going off without saying anything to anyone.” You say keeping up with the other boy fairly easily. You roll your eyes as he tripped over another root, “Maybe you shouldn’t have left your glasses this time.”

“Oh shut it Strider.” He says picking himself up from the ground. The boy took off his off-green colored vest and ran a dirty hand through his messy hair, “The peek I took at the monitor about this one is worth it.” He had that little spark in his eyes he gets when he is up to something. He continued through the bushes and, against your better judgment, you followed him as he took you further away from the ship.

“Jake, what is so amazing about this town?” You ask as you used the indents in the foliage from the other to help you get through it. You almost bump into him when he stops in front of a wall of leaves.

You were about to say something else when he turns to you with that smirk, that stupid smirk, and says only one word after he pushed his hand through the branches and made a hole big enough for you both to look.

“Gunslingers.”

Now you get it. And you know you can’t stop him from this. So you decide to follow him into the town to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. You keep your comments to yourself as the both of you walk through the dust and into a saloon. You feel all of the looks that you’re attracting and you know that this town most likely doesn’t get many new faces, if any at all.

Jake hops onto one of the bar stools and orders something, you don’t quite catch what he is saying simply because all of your other senses are heightened. Your orange eyes are darting to every little movement from behind your sharply angled glasses.

You can see the heart rates and estimated number of weapons on each person in the room thanks to your upgrades, but this is also making you a bit antsy. You clear your throat lightly and half-turn towards Jake, “We should make this quick.” You say only loud enough for him to hear you.

He just glances at you and gave one shake of his head in a negative fashion. Of course he wouldn’t agree. The little twerp has been waiting for a town like this. Jake smiles at the bartender who brought him his drink and dove straight in, what he didn’t notice was that the man didn’t return it.

“I take it you boys are from out of town.”

You turn fully towards the man that had walked over from one of the tables and give one nod. You think of the retractable blade in your sleeve and feel somewhat better about the situation.

Jake turned fully in his seat and offered the man a smile much like the one he gave the bartender and nodded as well.

The man gave a small smirk, “Well, just so you two know, this town doesn’t take too kindly to strangers with mysterious intentions.”

Jake tilted his head, “How do we have these ‘mysterious intentions’ exactly?”

You start to flex your hand in the way that it would release the blade but stop when you notice the other people in the saloon start to rise from their seats. You’ll need something more than a single blade.

The man crossed his arms over his chest and you analyzed every second of it, “Well, seeing as we don’t get that many strangers around these parts. You two are looking like trouble-makers.”

Jake raised his arms a little bit too quickly and let out a loud laugh. Only you saw the almost visible jerk from most of the people in the room. You also flinched towards your holster out of habit, “My apologies for us appearing that way sir, but we aren’t looking for any kind of mischief!” Jake turned back to the bar and took another sip from his drink, done with the conversation.

You stay where you are so you have all of the people in the saloon in your eyesight. It’s a stare-down, and you know that your lives are not in the safest place right now. You breathe lightly, concentrating more on not moving. You know that you have your spider gun and that Jake has his shock whip and two pistols, but that wouldn’t be enough to take out let alone clear a path back to the ship.

Thankfully the man backed away with a small sneer and left the two of you alone. You swear that if you didn’t follow Jake on this ‘adventure’ then he surely would have gotten himself killed. You feel an uneasiness swell in your stomach at that thought and turn back to your boyfriend. You place a hand on his shoulder, letting him know that you were intensely uncomfortable right now and let it slide off after a moment.

Jake got the hint, paid for his drink and hopped off the stool. You followed behind him, keeping an eye on the cowboys, a steady hand on the butt of your gun.

You don’t relax until the both of you are safely inside of the airship and leaving the outskirts of the town. And even then, it took a little bit of ‘coaxing’ on Jake’s part to help you out inside of your room.

PROMPT: TEAM EQUIUS<3GAMZEE

[brightgray]

Surrealism and magical girls for Aradia<3Feferi?

Re: FILL: TEAM DAVE<3KANAYA<3ROSE

[memyselfandi]

Oh man this is awesome <3 Thank you!

Re: FILL: TEAM KANAYA<3VRISKA

[memyselfandi]

ah thank you <3

PROMPT: TEAM JOHN<3DAVE

[seer_of_void]

Dating Sim plus Twenty Minutes into the Future for Jane<3Jake<3Roxy<3Dirk?

Re: FILL: TEAM JOHN <3 KARKAT

[cest_what]

Oh, I really liked this /o\

Re: FILL: TEAM ERIDAN<3FEFERI<3SOLLUX<3<ERIDAN

[hoodedscarlet]

Hehe, I follow you on tumblr, so I was really excited to see your first fill - even more so when I saw you'd done a second one for me too! x3
And oh, that explains where your icon picture comes from - inverse cuttle fish is right, and rather fitting at that. Then again, the second part goes without saying, right? =3
How long ago did you have the idea/start playing her like that?

Re: FILL: TEAM SLICK<3<SNOWMAN

[blackberries]

HELL YES

Thank you so much!

FILL: TEAM Eridan<>Rose

[nobucketsjustlove]

Mission info: An important research facility belonging to Crockercorp. located on a remote island, scouting reports show that facility is heavily guarded by multiple squadrons of the "batterwitch's" forces. 2 operatives dispatched for retrieval

ARADIA MEGIDO (PILOT/INFILTRATOR) (1) Razor whip (1) cloaked silent helicopter
JADE HARLEY (SNIPER/SCOUT) (1) Sniper rifle (1) binoculars

Radio chatlog from mission

0300 hours

apocalypseArisen [AA] began chatter with gardenGnostic [GG]

AA: 0k seri0usly th0ugh harley we really cann0t spend the rest 0f this night perfectly p0siti0ning this spinning aer0vehicle
AA: we have a j0b to d0 and it is 0n a deadline
GG: yes but what if you have to go somewhere that i cant see you!
GG: i'd be worried and you be going in blind
AA: i am perfectly capable 0f handling myself n0w we need t0 finish this bef0re we run 0ut of fuel
GG: alright fine
AA: be sure t0 keep the barrel 0f y0ur rifle inside the cl0aking field
AA: we d0nt need them kn0wing where y0u are
AA: i am beginning my descent
AA: i have t0uched d0wn 0n gr0und what is the status 0f the near side 0f the c0mp0und
GG: it is perfectly clear what luck:)
AA: can y0u see me yet jade
GG: yes i can
GG: y0u have a group of imps fast approaching to left they will round the corner in approx twenty seconds
GG: you don't have enough time to
GG: oh wow!!!
AA: yes this whip is ver g00d f0r climbing
GG: alright from the top of this building you should begin making your way to the center it should be a straight shot before the next patrol arrives.
AA: i can see the facility i am beginning my descent
GG: you are clear you will enter the line of sight of the nearest patrol in approx thirty seconds:)
GG: okay good now go up to the second floor ramparts and hang from the railings if you can
GG: see the imp standing guard on the left
AA: yes
GG: good i have the one on the right on the count of three we will attack simultaneously so that they will have no time to raise the alarm
AA: 0k
GG: alright
GG: 1
GG: 2
GG: 3!!!
GG: good work with that whip megido
AA: yes i am quite talented with a whip miss harley
GG: wait
AA: what
GG: arent you forgetting something!
AA: what d0 y0u mean
GG: the grist!!!
GG: what part of leave no trace do you not understand
AA: 0h silly me i f0rg0t
GG: okay miss megido the lab we are looking for should be right there extract the files then plant the bomb
AA: i will let y0u kn0w when i find it
AA: alright i am here
GG: the terminal should be there somewhere
AA: yes i see it im exracting the files 0r whatever it is i am d0ing right now
AA: its l0ading s0 ill plant the bomb
GG: okay
AA: 0_0
AA: umm
AA: jade
GG: did y0u set the timer wrong
AA: n0 its set t0 g0 in plenty 0f time
GG: did the terminal freeze
AA: n0 i have the thing right here
GG: then what is it!
AA: an alarm has been raised
GG: get out of there then!!!!
AA: i am making my way 0ut n0w
GG: hurry!!
GG: oh no:(
GG: there are ogres closing in on the facility move it megido
AA: jade the missi0n has been c0mpr0mised hit the aut0pil0t the c00rdinates will send y0u back
GG: no im not leaving without you aradia
AA: just g0
GG: oops look at that i accidentally shut off the cloaking better hurry back before they shoot me down;)
AA: fine have it y0ur way
GG: i can see you now aradia hurry back they are closing in on you
AA: the large 0ne at the fr0nt is gaining 0n
AA: excellent sh0t harley
GG: not like its a very small target
AA: im appr0aching y0ur p0siti0n get ready
AA: hit the butt0n
GG: get up here quick
AA: y0u sh0uld have left me
GG: i might as well be dead without you aradia
AA: well i guess i can't say that im unhappy ab0ut y0u staying
GG: well of course not now come here-

Rest of transmission is classified. For more information refer to records from: Harley and Jade hearing, gross misconduct on board a military vehicle

FILL: TEAM Dolorosa <3 Mindfang

[ilony]

Best movie ever.

FILL: TEAM Roxy<3Dirk

[chronologicalimplosion]

I... I also wrote a fic for this, and I just... it... I... yeah. I'm sorry. I really am. I don't... I just don't even know.

Warning: Thar be crack.
-----
While one can debate the existence of gods, upper or lower-case, all they want, there are certainly creatures in planes of existence that sometimes cross ours which are far more powreful - and strange - than we can imagine. Creatures whose grand battles occasionally change our reality and all it ever was, with little more thought from said creatures themselves than our boots give to the traces of mold clinging to their laces. It is not that we are petty to them, merely completely irrelevant.

Regardless of all this, they occasionally have some very... human problems.

"What the fuck, Fef? You really want to drape that trashy nebula through our bedroom? We could go much classier than that without having to invent new geometries to do it! Like the Horus system. We could even spring a bit and use the entire Cigar Galaxy. Wouldn't that be something?"

"Eridan, none of those match the color scheme at all! I swear, you are the most tacky abomination I have ever met. Besides, there are some really adorably quaint populations in a rather nice alignment with the Eagle Nebula, and I'd love to have them to peek in on now and again."

"They're all just filthy cretins! All live on land breathing disgusting blends of gasses and everything. I mean oxygen, really? It's plant vomit!"

"Are you even listening to what you're saying or do you just like the tuna your own voice that much?"

"Oh, for the sake of all that's Lovecraftian, we aren't going to start the fish pun thing, are we?"

"Oh, I don't tank I ever stopped."

Somewhere, a cluster of planets exploded and a sun went supernova. Not all at once, mind, because time is another thing that isn't quite so simple when you're an elderich abomination from another dimension slash plane of existence. In fact, to anyone who didn't know better, they would appear to have been behaving that way naturally. Our perception of cosmic events clings rather persistently to the laws of physics.

"Eridan! Watch your temper! If you can't bewave yourself, I swear I will saunter on over to my matesprit and move in with him instead. I don't know why I agreed to this in the first place."

"Something about keeping me from killing star systems and otherwise generally ruining my fun. Generally being an annoying pain, I th-"

"Well I am not your moray-eel and I don't want to be! I hate this and I hate you!"

And that was when the fighting began proper and things started to go south for our universe and universes in general. The beginnings of a livable space that had been coiling together around them were torn apart, stars scattered too far from planets they needed to be close to and order being generally disregarded. They messily conjoined, tentacles made of thought and fear and horror intertwining and attempting to rip each other apart. The parts used for sensory input twisted into shapes of disgust and anger and hate. There was a good deal of grunting and yelling and moaning and, many degrees of reality away, a sensor somewhere was picking it up as an unexplained spike in background radiation.

There are, in fact, several universes built with the pillar of their hate as something of a foundation, and you'd best be glad that ours isn't, because we get off much easier than they do, based in something so vitrolic.

Re: FILL: TEAM Dolorosa <3 Mindfang

[jack_of_none]

OK WE'RE DONE HERE.

EVERYBODY GO HOME, OLYMPICS OVER.

FILL: TEAM Karkat♥Sollux

[noveltyhorns]

John arched his elegant neck downward and cropped the grass, chewing with his broad, flat, herbivore teeth in a figure-eight motion. Grinding the fibrous vegetation, he hummed to himself as he surveyed the field, the barn, and the seven other alpacas forming a herd around him. Swallowing, he let out a contented bleat and enjoyed the weather. Life was good. The buttery yellow sunlight of late afternoon bathed the grass and emerging spring flora like so much movie popcorn, the new grass was yet unfurling its pale banners - luscious green, it was, each sprig tender enough to warm a young alpaca’s heart - butterflies flitted freely from flower to blossoming flower, the trees of the nearby forest stood strong and green in the distance, and the chill of winter was at last departing to make room in the air for feelings of a deeper sort. Though alpacas have no set breeding season, their breeding is nevertheless regulated; for this particular herd, spring was the time when their alpaca hearts would turn to love, and John was more than ready.

Yes - soon the breeding season would arrive, and every alpaca would begin to look upon the others with new eyes, albeit eyes hidden behind thick, lush layers of wool. John thought briefly of delicious hay before eyeing the neighboring alpacas, raising his head and staring one down in apprehension. Slowly, it had been encroaching on him for almost twenty minutes, the only cloud in the otherwise perfect sky of his peaceful day. Of all the alpacas dwelling in the nigh-Elysian field, this one caused him by far the most problems with its strange hostility.

Karkat glared back, raising his head and threatening to spit, his ears perked in rage. His wool stood out in a lush, fine, deep black halo around his body, set off by the brown areas above his eyes that looked for all the world like furious eyebrows; any observer could see that the only rival of his downy magnificence was the soft, white cloud of an alpaca enjoying the luscious patch of grass nearby. In flagrant defiance of his alpaca nature, a nature more devoted to remaining in a herd and peaceably eating than to behaving standoffishly, Karkat was spoiling for a fight. He faced off with John for a minute, working up a good vengeful spit for that perfect wool, when a loud noise seized their attention and they let out identical, quacking alarm bleats.

By and large, their peaceful lives were broken up only by surprise; John had most recently been surprised by a butterfly that landed on his nose and flapped its wings three times, and Karkat had most recently been surprised by a fast-moving cloud that passed in front of the sun and cast in shadow the hay he had been eating. Those surprises were tame fare compared to the trucks that suddenly rumbled into the pen, and while usually this meant food, they watched in discomfiture as the humans who dismounted from the truck seized Sollux instead. Showing care that belied the sudden scream he let out, they set him on his side on a padded mat before turning on the clippers and pressing them against his throat.

“Eeeeyaaaa!” Sollux wailed again before relaxing and staring blankly forward, the clippers running down his newly bared neck and to the heavy blanket of tan wool across his back. Even his shapely legs were unspared by their calloused hands and the cold, buzzing metal that stripped his wool away. It was at that moment that Karkat and John looked at each other and came to a silent but mutual agreement to set their concerns aside; together, if only for a short time, they would work to escape the shearers. Not only for misguided self-preservation, but for the sake of dignity.

Perhaps fortunately, the segment of fence Karkat chose to push was unwelded, the fastenings on one side gone. It was for this reason that the fence, composed as it was of long bars that came in segments for easy dismantlement and movability, budged slightly when he pushed against it; however, his own light weight and four-foot-tall frame had no hope of moving it far enough to get through the small open space he created. John pressed against it next to him, the metal bars moving just a little further. Karkat bleated softly; John shoved with renewed effort, his padded feet scraping in the dirt, loyally going along as the gate finally shifted further and they slipped through the space.

Freedom was a new thing to them both; they walked uncertainly through the new grass on their padded, two-toed feet, stopping as the need for a curious nibble overpowered their small attention spans, so far undetected by the men still focused on shaving their quarry. Naturally devoted to remaining in a herd, they glanced back at the others repeatedly before a loud shout sent them into a run, their woolly heads bobbing, legs carrying them over the small grassy knolls of their homeland as the need to escape struck them with renewed vigor. Shouts and bleats followed them as the other alpacas streamed through the open fence and were in their turn caught, herded back into the pen for their shearing. Unhindered, however, nothing could stop the eager legs of John and Karkat from cutting swiftly through the new air of freedom.

Yet even the air of freedom is not without its share of oppression, particularly for animals that survive based on herd behavior. Even as they ran, their lustrous eyes wide in alarm, their wool weighing them down with every stride, they paradoxically ran not only from that which caused them fear but their very source of comfort and support as well. Far behind them were the other alpacas that normally clustered around them in a dense, safe group, far behind them remained the barn that provided them shade from heat and precipitation. Their unusual behavior had shown them hints that there could be a new way of life, one unlimited by fences, but the implications - no more hay, no warm and woolly forms around them when they slept, no others to follow or to lead - were heavy, oppressive, against their pliant alpaca natures. John slowed first, trotting only uncertainly away from the sound of the trucks. Karkat slowed with him, letting out a desperate bleat, pushing at him from the side to spur him on. Together, two alpacas in a new and surprising world, they ran at last into the trees.

Nervous, John bleated softly. Karkat nudged him, staying close, taking solace in his fleece as they wandered and slowly, without understanding, became lost.

It rained that night, a dark torrent that soaked their outer wool and sent them scurrying for shelter, padded feet sinking in the mud. John screamed as he slipped, almost falling. His dense hair had become matted, soggy and gray with water; Karkat pushed at his forlorn, stumbling shape again, encouraging him even as he strained to see through the wool that flopped into his own eyes. In a figurative sense, he had pulled this wool over his eyes, blinding himself to the difficulties of this sort of life and taking John along with him, a hapless but surprisingly loyal sacrifice to his impulsive decisions. As much as he could apprehend regret, Karkat regretted his choices.

It seemed an eternity before he found an outcropping of rock beneath which he pushed John, sheltering him from the worst of the weather. John slumped exhaustedly into the dirt, his wool streaming water over the ground, and Karkat was in no better shape. The mats and tangles of their hair steamed as they dried, tightening and pulling at their skin. John shifted uncomfortably against his side. Unhappy, they huddled together for warmth, their rivalry forgotten and their wool impossibly heavy with absorbed rain. The idyllic pasture seemed so far away at that moment that Karkat let out a mournful, resounding bleat; he gazed into the forest until long into the night, terrified by his own absence of natural defenses and the soft honks of geese on a lake not so far away. His muscles quivered, perpetually on the verge of bursting into flight, his throat prepared all the while to issue his alarm noise and wake the alpaca who nestled so trustingly against him. He looked down at John, at the soulful eyes closed in uneasy sleep, and slowly bowed his long neck until it lay over the matted white fluff of John’s neck. He lay thus, eyes trained on the woods and ears perked for noise, his sensitive nose comforted by the familiar scent of John’s wool, until an unexpected sleep claimed and held him captive until morning.

They woke to bridles, admonishments, and the fact that their small physical endurance limits had carried them not nearly so far from home as it seemed. “What were you thinking?” a familiar man asked, gently herding Karkat toward a waiting truck. “It’s lucky you were so close to the road, no one might have seen you.” John hummed beside him as they walked, obviously excited to be found; Karkat looked around, tormented by uncertainty but led by his herd nature to walk alongside. John, after glancing at him, hummed louder as though to appease him. Karkat lowered his head slightly, grateful for the sound and the companionship; he could no longer imagine, after the night’s adventure, that he had ever resented this loyal, self-sacrificing alpaca. The others, freshly shaved, called out shrill welcomes as they walked from the truck. Their fur was dingy and matted, their faces slightly haunted by their knowledge of lives they could never have and were not quite sure they had ever wanted, but they were home.

“Time for the shearing,” a voice said.

---

“Eeeyaaaa!” Karkat shrieked as the black wool fell away from his sides, as hands rolled him over to get to his other side. He kicked his legs a little, an obligatory token of resistance, but John lay passively as the wool was stripped from his neck. By chance, Karkat’s gaze landed upon that pale column and he froze, transfixed by the sight of dense, pale wool pulled so unchastely away from skin he had never before seen. Suddenly the concept of being without wool lost its terror; his own darker skin felt cooler, his body lighter, and with fascination and a surprised bleat he gazed at the white curves of John’s body as they became exposed to him.

John’s eyes met his, then traveled down his bare throat to the curves of his ribs; yet again their lives were characterized by peace and then surprise, and this surprise was by far one of the nicest ones yet, by the way John let out a sudden and contented hum. They eyed each other as they were stripped bare, as each part was revealed, their colors contrasting and their shapes more defined and pleasing. Even the tangles and mats came away to leave smooth cleanliness.

Perhaps being sheared was not such a bad thing, provided that one was not altogether alone. Even in their failure to escape from the shearers, in the difficult lesson in survival they had attained, they had nevertheless accomplished an escape; they had escaped from inhibition. Freely, after the suffering they had experienced and the sights they had seen, they could love one another.

They both bleated for joy as they were released back into the fold with good-natured pats and pushes, John’s eyes lustrous as he thoughtfully hummed in a way that set Karkat’s alpaca blood aflame. They trotted together to the good grass patch; Karkat generously bumped John toward it to offer him the better grass, reveling in the sensation of his new, shorter wool against the warmth of the other, and let out a pleased bleat when John bumped him in return. Together, elated, their warm bodies pressed against one another in pleasant solidarity, they ate.

---

EDUCATION CORNER: Alpacas have padded feet! Their ovulation is triggered by mating when they’re receptive, so they can mate at any time of their year; their offspring gestate for about 11 months and are called “cria.” Depending on location, people time the alpacas’ breeding so cria emerge during a season when the weather is gentler. They produce roughly 11 pounds of wool per year. The huacaya alpaca is the one you’re imagining; the big puffy one. The suri alpaca grows dreadlocks.

“novelty: it’s like writing a Regency romance, gotta do your research
novelty: otherwise you'd have alpanachronistic behavior
novelty: alpacanachronisms”

FILL: TEAM JOHN<>VRISKA

[togekissies]

I drew something! uwu

I have no idea how to make a link and I'm too tired to figure it out sooo I hope just posting the url works http://i.imgur.com/LaRHk.jpg

it's really big, haha, sorry

PROMPT: TEAM MEENAH<3<ROXY

[jack_of_none]

Dirk <3 Jake <3< Autoresponder

Cyberpunk + Ruritanian romance