Chapter Three Of The DM!memoirs AU

Chapter three of the DM!memoirs AU

Slight trigger warning emotional stuff and talk of funeral/burial.

Moomin and Hodgkins went back to the boat as fast as they could, it was a silent speed walk all the way back til they finally got on the boat.

“I’m going to go check and see if Joxter is back on the boat yet-“ said the Moomin, breaking the silence.

“Mhm.” Said hodgkins before going back to the pilot house opening the door and seeing joxter there

“hes over here.” said hodgkins from the pilot house across the boat to moomin, moomin gave a nod and went over to the two over in the pilot house joxter rubbed his eyes just waking up from his nap.

“Oh, you two are back. So did you get the answer we needed?”

Hodgkins nodded yes.

“Fancy that, I found a place that would be nice for the burial...” said the Joxter.

The Moomin then asked “So are we going to do the burial now or tomorrow?”

“First thing in the morning.” said Hodgkins “The longer we wait the worse it’ll be...” he added, he didn't elaborate but it was pretty obvious he meant the body was going to turn rotten eventually and start stinking up the boat, a very vivid and gross smell he didn’t wish to smell ever again, nor did he want to see the decomposition of the corpse of his nephew aswell.

“Makes enough sense...” said Moomin “And who should dig the hole?”

Joxter put his paws in his pockets and replied “I could do it. After all, I was the one who found the spot.”

“We dig it out now. And I'm coming with. I want to make sure it’s as nice a spot as you say.” Said Hodgkins before going into the chest in the pilot house to dig around for a lantern or two since it was getting dark out by now.

The Joxter's brow furrowed in an irritated fashion when Hodgkins said 'to make sure it’s as nice a spot as you say', he felt particularly hurt by his choice of words. Does he not trust my judgment or what?! thought the Joxter.

“Why now?” Asked the Moomin.

“So we don’t waste time doing it in the morning.” said Hodgkins before pulling out two lanterns and passing one to the Joxter.

“Oh, alright- what about shovels? Do we have shovels on board?”

Hodgkins thought for a moment before sighing disappointedly and shaking his head.

Moomin then lifted his finger as he had an idea “Perhaps we can have dinner first and then afterwards walk back to the hut that young mymble is living in, maybe we can ask her if she has a shovel...? And possibly apologize for your outburst earlier-“

“Outburst...?” Asked Joxter.

“Nevermind that-“ replied the Moomin, wanting to get to the point “Good idea or not?”

“Not hungry. But we can wait until people start returning home from the king's party.”

“Alright, then it’s settled!” said the Moomin trying to be cheerful about the fact that they had most of this sorted out.

They soon after borrowed the shovels they needed and started digging in Joxter's spot, Moomin had the idea of finding a big rock they could use as a headstone for the burial, he wandered off half way through digging to find said rock, leaving Joxter and Hodgkins to silently dig together.

“Hodgkins?” asked Joxter to break the silence.

“What?” answered Hodgkins.

“... can I take a break?”

“Of course you ask to take a break. You can’t just finish a task without bothering someone or taking a break in the process, now can you?” Hodgkins said with animosity in his voice.

“No, I guess I can’t.” replied the Joxter as he stabbed his shovel into the ground and then sat down next to the hole.

Moomin somehow managed to role a big boulder to the burial sight and place it at one end of the hole, “We can paint his name and information on it-“

“Anything but paint.” Hodgkins cut him off coldly.

Moomin thought for a moment before realizing “Oh- oh goodness I’m so sorry!“

“Yes, how awfully ironic it would be.” commented the Joxter

The next morning was bright. Joxter, Hodgkins and Moomin brought Muddler's body to the grave they dug, Muddler was carried with care by Hodgkins and it was obvious Hodgkins and Joxter were both holding in tears they best they could. Joxter had a few handfuls of Muddler's buttons in his pockets because he planned on scattering them over his resting place after the burial, when they got to the grave and Hodgkins gently placed muddler in, the waterworks started to flow.

Hodgkins stepped back and so did Joxter, there was a moment of silence before Moomin unfolded a piece of paper he had in the palm of his paw, he looked it over before he started speaking:

“I have a few words to share... I may not have known the Muddler for that long but he was an interesting fellow. I wish I had the time to get to know him more and even though he’s gone, he will live on in the memories of those who cared about him.” There was a moment of silence before Joxter took off his hat out of respect and began to add on his own word of rememberance.

“Thank you Moomin. I of course have some words to say aswell, I didn’t write any of it down but... speaking from the heart... Muddler, I don’t know what death entails... where you or your soul may be right now, but you were... everything to me... and you still are. Even if you're 'gone', I’ll keep my promise to protect your things that were so important to you, and I’ll always cherish the memories you made with me, from the day you convinced Hodgkins to take me in to now, you’ll never be out of my mind, I swear by it...” he then scattered some of the buttons he had in his pockets down into Muddler's grave before taking a step back and covering his face with his hat to try and hide his ugly crying.

“... as everyone here knows, I’m not good with words... I’m not good with sappy things of any sort... But Muddler, my dear nephew, I hope you've been reunited with your parents... I hope this is a good enough resting place for you... and I hope... I hope you can forgive me for not being a better parent...” Hodgkins said and cleared his throat and choked back tears, and with those last words the funeral was done. Muddler's grave was burried and life for the rest of the crew went on.

Some time went by, Joxter ended up meeting and interacting with a large and jolly Mymble a few times and they quickly got along, perhaps romantically even, but Joxter didn’t push that part of there relationship too much. A few flings here and there with her sure but he was still stuck on losing Muddler. He wasn’t one to move on so quickly. He occupied his time with the Mymble's company and when he wasn't with her he was taking care of Muddler's can. He had taken it to a spot in the forest that was secure, a spot that became his sort of 'home' when he wasn’t wandering or getting along with Mymble.

Hodgkins shut himself out from both Moomin and Joxter shortly after Muddler's funeral. He kept to himself and applied to be the king's royal inventor and naturally he got the job for his great skill, he kept himself always busy to occupy his thoughts, hoping to push away all the negativity of grief and all desires of being close to anyone ever again, for his own sake.

Moomin ended up living on the Oshun Oxtra trying to think of what to do now that the crew was no longer together, he pondered the idea of going on adventures by himself, but what is the joy of adventure with no one to share it with? "Or should I get straight to writing my memoirs? But what sort of sad short memoir would it be if he never truly went on a great rounded adventure? Some thing feels missing..." he pondered the posibilities for days and weeks as he tried to write something or come up with what he should do until he met a lady moomin, a Miss Moomin to be exact, who he saved in an awful storm and they promptly fell in love. They lived on the ship together as they discussed their plans for there future together, they decided to get jobs in the kingdom to earn enough to travel together and perhaps go to London.

Things were going well for Moomin.

Things were going adequately for Hodgkins.

... And the Joxter felt out of place.

Little did he know that things were about to take a great turn for him.

(End of chapter three!- sorry if this chapter sucks i sort of rushed it, I was trying to end the super sad bits. but I promise after this chapter there will be bits of sad and angst but not as much as the past chapters, the next ones will mostly focus on the after affects such as how the butterfly affect of muddler passing changes how things would have originally been.) (special thanks to @flowerbloom-arts for helping me edit this thing properly

(Illustrations and non-triggering re-cap coming soon.)

Recent drawing of my ocs! I can’t draw backgrounds or shoes for the life of me- I gotta practice that.

If any one wants to do an art trade or commission of any sort just dm me!/genuine!

Chapter four! DM!memoirs au, trigger free from what I can tell!

(Illustration finished!)

sorry if the chapter is shorter then usual. More coming soon!) Once again big thanks to @flowerbloom-arts for helping me edit it properly!)

It was a Sunday afternoon, Joxter was shining Muddler's buttons and dusting knick knacks when he heard a knock on the other side of the can's wall.

“Joxter? Are you in there?” said the familiar voice of the Moomin

Joxter popped his head out of the can “Oh, hey Moomin, what’s new?”

“What’s new? Oh, nothing... besides the fact that Hodgkins sent us invites to come aboard his new invention, the Amphibian!”

“Wait, what? That’s surprising-“ said Joxter as he struggled to get out of the can “Goodness I need to loose some of this weight... or at least get a stool- mind reading the invite for me?”

“Of course - AHEM; 'You are cordially invited to attend the launching of the royal inventor Hodgkins' flying ship, the Amphibian, as one of the few special passengers allowed on board. We hope for your attendance. Please arrive at king Jones palace at 12:00 pm on Monday.” Moomin then passed Joxter the fancy letter to keep hold of.

“Huh... welp, I'll have to think on it.”

“I know! This is amazing ri- wait, what do you mean 'think on it'?”

“You know exactly what I mean! He hasn’t talked to us in months and now he just sent a letter for this big thing out of nowhere! And... I don’t know... I think I might stay here with Muddler-“

“Joxter, come on, he seems to be making an effort! And I believe you mean Muddler's things.”

“Yes his things but I like to imagine he’s still with me in some way. Let a man dream, will you?”

Moomin sighed and shook his head “Please deeply consider it, maybe things can go back to normal again- or atleast normal as it can be.”

“I’ll think about it but I believe I know my answer already.”

“We all have to move on and face life the way it is sometimes, Joxter. Just remember; Monday- 12:00 pm, alright?”

“What day is it today?”

“Saturday, so you have about two days to decide.” Moomin answered then began to walk away.

“Thanks Moomin.” Replied the Joxter as he looked over the fancy letter just looking at how it was written and squinting at it before putting it inside the can. He closed the lid of the can and sat on top of it for a moment before flopping over on his back.

“What do you think, Muds? Should I go?” asked Joxter to the silence of nature.

“... I know you would probably tell me to go... wouldn’t you...?” he sighed. “But you have to understand... it’s just... difficult.”

He felt guilt well up in his chest and decided to curl up on the lid of the can and take a nap.

Hodgkins was in his work area in the palace, he was nervously wondering if Moomin and Joxter would attend the launching ceremony or not. One part of him regretted asking them to come but he would have been an awful person not to ask for their attendance. Muddler would have wanted them to be there. Muddler would have wanted everyone to get along still. And Hodgkins knew this. And Hodgkins thought of this now more than ever now that he had 'free time' now that his main project was finished. It was an unfair feeling he had. He decided to occupy his time once again, drawing up blueprints for extra un-needed things just to keep his mind somewhat away from the thought of other's feelings and his own.

Moomin was just thrilled with the news of the launching ceremony, and so was Miss Moomin since Moomin was planning on taking her as his plus one.

Two days passed and it was the day of the Amphibian's launching, Moomin and his new girlfriend got there to the palace an hour early out of pure excitement, preparations were being set up by the rest of the kingdom for the launching. when they got to the palace Moomin showed a guard his invite and they where escorted to Hodgkins' work room where he resided most days. The guard who walked them over knocked on the door for them. Hodgkins stood by the door when there was a knock thinking “That time already?” He opened the door and greeted Moomin. “Moomin.” was all he said as his greeting.

“Hodgkins! It’s wonderful to see you again! And on such a momentous occasion!”

“Good to see you too Moomin.” Hodgkins managed to force a little smile.

Miss Moomin then did a little bow with respect “Hello mr. hodgkins, I’m Miss Moomin!“ she looked up and smiled kindly.

“Oh? Nice to meet you aswell, Miss.“ he then looked back to Moomin wondering how much had happened without him.

“Uhm... oh where are my manors? Come in, both of you. You know if Joxter will be joining us for the launching today...?”

“I’m not to sure.” replied Moomin “But I think he decided on not coming- you know how he is.”

“Hm...” replied Hodgkins looking at his pocket watch “You came an hour early, so he still has time to get here.”

“Hopefully you're right- and, uhm, sorry for being so early!“ said Moomin, a bit embarrassed.

Miss Moomin added “Oh, I hope we aren’t intruding by coming early! He was just so excited to see you again! He was telling me how you two haven’t talked in ages and-“

Moomin looked over to Miss Moomin, flustered, and held her arm “Dear, please!”

“Oh sorry-“ she let out a small giggle “I didn’t mean to make you embarrassed, sweetie.“

“A-anyway, what have you been up to, Hodgkins?” Moomin asked.

“Work.” He replied simply.

“... What kind of work...? I mean besides inventing- like what kind of inventions have you been working on?” Said Moomin, trying desperately to start a real conversation with Hodgkins.

“Hm.” Hodgkins went to his desk drawer and pulled out some blueprints “These.”

Moomin and Miss Moomin looked over them, a lot of them commissioned by king Jones, mostly silly childish pranks, then different engine designs and such for the Amphibian, nothing too unexpected.

“How amazing!” said Miss Moomin, stunned by the designs and craftsmanship “It must be exciting to be a royal inventor!”

“I suppose.” replied Hodgkins plainly.

Meanwhile, Joxter had been wandering around the woods picking berries and putting them into his hat, still pondering the thought of attending the ceremony today, he thought and thought until he circled back to Muddler's can but when he got to it, he noticed the lid was off. He knew he didn’t leave it like that- he quickly kicked the side of the can as he suspected intruders “Hey! Whoever is in there, get out now! This can isn’t yours!” he said aggressively.

A frightened “Squeak!” Came out from the can, Joxter then peaked over the rim of the can and saw a fuzzy sitting there curled up looking scared “Oh pardon- pardon me! I’m so sorry! I thought this tin was abandoned!”

“It’s not abandoned so get out!” replied the Joxter, his pupils constricting with anger like a cat.

The Fuzzy stood up and dropped some buttons she had in her paws, they clunked and clanged as they hit the bottom of the tin. “I’m sorry! So sorry! Please don’t tell the authorities, I didn’t know!”

“Oh no not the buttons! They where organized a certain way! Look what you did! ... and I’m not going to tell the authorities, I hate authorities of any sort, especially park keepers, alright?”

“Oh thank goodness- I’m still so sorry, I could help you sort the buttons back if you would like- it’s the least I can do for causing trouble for you, sir.”

“Gosh don’t call me sir I hate that- the name's Joxter and goshdarn it you are going to stay here and put the buttons back in place just how you found them.” He ordered and proceeded to climb into the can with her.

“What did you want with this old junk, anyways?”

“Old junk? Some of it is junk but most of it seems like interesting treasures to me- very shiney! I’m guessing all of this is yours?”

“Yes an no.” replied the Joxter, carefully picking up the buttons and sorting them by color.

“How is it yes AND no?”

“It belongs to my friend the Muddler. But... he asked me to keep watch and take care of it for him while he’s gone so I’m keeping that promise.”

“How noble of you...!” replied the Fuzzy with an awkward smile.

“Not really noble, just sad that I’m this stuck-“

“Stuck?” squeaked the Fuzzy quietly.

“Oh nevermind that. What’s your name, anyhow?”

“Oh, my name is just my species' name, so Fuzzy is just fine.”

“Easy enough to remember. So Miss Fuzzy; what are you doing here in the middle of a forest alone digging through a giant coffee tin?”

“Oh-well- uhm- you see-“

“You know what? I don’t wanna know. Just- if I ever catch you stealing anything from here ever again I won’t hesitate to bite you.“

“Bite?!” the Fuzzy repeated, suddenly panicked.

“You heard me!” replied the Joxter who was in fact all bark and no bite “... ok I wouldn’t literally bite you but you get my point.” he admitted.

“I do get it-! Again, I’m so very sorry-“

“Hey, stop apologizing- okay, maybe I came off as to rude at first... but I am really curious as to why you're here. There’s an important ceremony for the royal inventor's Amphibian today, I heard everyone's going to be there.”

“Well... I could ask the same to you, why aren’t you there either, Joxter sir?”

“I’m trying to avoid it I suppose. Rather not go into detail.” replied the Joxter while he was polishing a particular button with his sleeve.

“Ah, same reason here...”

“Well er... yes and no-“ replied the Fuzzy

“Yes and no? How could it be both?” he teased

“I mean that... yes, I’m sad I can’t see the launching but also no, because, well... what I’m leaving behind won’t be missed by me and I won’t be missed by them, it’s for the better I think.“

“Me too but I’m guessing you're talking about some other folks and not who I’m avoiding but uhm- hey, cheer up! At least you got... uhm... Hm... I don’t know what you have actually-“ Joxter looked down at the buttons and thought sadly about Muddler “Miss Fuzzy, what button catches your eye the most?”

“What one? I... well I suppose this one that looks like a tiger's eye gemstone- it’s rather shiny and interesting.“ she said and pointed to the one she was talking about.

“Well then, you can keep it...” replied the Joxter with a tinge of hesitation.

“Wait, what? Are you sure? But won't your friend be upset if he comes back and finds that it’s missing?”

“He’s never coming back and I know it but it’s alright, he was a kind man, he would have happily given you one of his buttons.” said the Joxter in a melancholy tone “So just take it and stop questioning me before I change my mind.” Fuzzy smiled and took the button and admired it for a moment before putting it in her pocket and fixing the rest of the buttons in order “Thank you mr. Joxter.“

“Oh whatever, now run along! I've got things to do.” he lied, he really just wanted some time to himself.

Fuzzy got out of the can and did just that, she ran along to some other part of the forest trying to find a decent place where she could somehow camp out, she didn’t think through where she was going to go after leaving her family. She ended up settling for curling up in a hollowed out tree for the time being. She looked down at the button Joxter gave her and smiled as she admired it a bit while she thought of what to do next “Maybe I can find a job on the outskirts of town where my parents won’t find me... it’s not as if they would look for me... I hope...” She pondered sadly to herself.

The Amphibian launching went on without Joxter naturally and things remained a bit awkward with Moomin and Hodgkins, but Hodgkins told Moomin “You can always write to me if you want... don’t know when I’ll get to the letter but I’ll respond to them when I can.”

Moomin loved that idea, he decided on doing that of course, because he hoped it would help Hodgkins back into interacting with people again.

Joxter kept thinking about the Fuzzy he met, “She reminds me so much of Muddler...” the thought lingered in his head waving off the idea that “It was fate” or a “Sign”, it just happened to be some one who reminded him of Muddler, it was nice but not something to be wrapped up about.

Hey guys I know I haven’t posted in a while but here’s my latest peice! A mixed media collage/painting peice, the little demons drawn on it are painted by my and the background is collage clippings from news papers and magazines of graffiti art made to look like a new perspective

OK I JUST HAD TO RE-blog this because GOSH ITS SO DARN WHOLESOME AND JUST- BLOOM your outstanding with punching me in the heaRt (in a good way-)

Day 16; Muddler and Hodgkins

"Guess what day it is," Hodgkins said and closed the door to his study.

The small Muddler took a moment to think of the answer "... Tuesday?"

"What-? No, it's Friday-" Hodgkins corrected in a confused tone "Erm- digression aside, it's the 16th of November, your birthday."

Muddler gasped loudly and cried "OH MY GOSH REALLY??" and proceeded to hop excitedly.

"Yep, I've prepared ahead;" Hodgkins took out a wad of paper money from his pocket "Since your parents aren't... Here, I saved money to make today still special, so-" he explained and got interrupted by Muddler aggressively hugging his leg.

"YOU ARE THE MOST AMAZING UNCLE EVER THANK YOU!" Muddler yelled.

"I haven't even..." Hodgkins mumbled, confused, then he sighed and picked up Muddler by the shirt, Muddler was wiggling intensely from all the tail wagging "We're going to town for the occasion. Any plans?"

Muddler's tail slowed down to a stop at the question and tried to think very seriously about it, holding his chin and humming thoughtfully as he thought extremely hard on what he wanted for his 9th birthday.

*

"... Buttons," Hodgkins echoed and looked through the window of the fabric store.

"MHM MHM MHM!!" Muddler confirmed, he was hopping repeatedly over the wall under the window, he then looked up at Hodgkins and slapped the glass over and over to further cement his decision.

"Okay okay just don't slap windows," Hodgkins said and picked up Muddler for the poor window's sake. The two entered the store and Hodgkins greeted the owner.

"Buttons, please!" Muddler requested politely.

The store owner asked what sort, Hodgkins said a small bag of random buttons would suffice well enough.

*

The Muddler was sorting through his new buttons on the outdoors table of the café, simply getting a feel for all the buttons he'll be adding to his collection. Hodgkins couldn't help but stare in utter bewilderment at his nephew. Buttons, as a birthday gift. What? Why? Did he normally celebrate this way with his parents...?

...

Oh sweet goodness, Hodgkins hasn't even considered asking how Muddler usually celebrates his birthdays beyond what he sees during his birthday visits. He's such a fool, an idiot, a nincompoop even! Is it acceptable to ask right now? On his very birthday? What would he think of his socially inept uncle? Maybe he isn't cut out to be his caretaker afterall, what was he thinking taking on this tremendous task of raising another creature-

"Look at this one!" Muddler stood up on his chair and showed his uncle a round square-shaped button with a pattern resembling a tiger's eye gemstone "Excuse me! Doesn't it look neat??"

"Yes," Hodgkins replied, his eyes shifted downward at the collection as he was deciding if he should ask.

Muddler noticed the look on his face, he sat back down and fidgeted with the button "You're not sad because mom and daddy aren't here, are you?" he asked worriedly "I think it's nice that it's just the two of us this year! You're really nice and good and I like you! We don't get to hang out that much on my birthday! And they're going to come back someday, right?" he added, trying to cheer his uncle up.

Hodgkins inhaled deeply as everything Muddler said stung very badly, it's always been just the two of them since spring, his parents are gone... Would Muddler consider him all those nice things if he knew? He was trying very hard to hold back any sign of grief or guilt "Y-yeah, yes. Just... Don't know how you celebrate your birthday, normally."

"Excuse me, but I don't think that matters!" Muddler said reassuringly "This year is different afterall! I wanna see what an uncle Hodgkins birthday looks like!"

Hodgkins' face lit up and his ears lifted "... Opinion on boats?"

"I don't like big water very much.. too big. I get sick alot..." Muddler replied.

Hodgkins slumped down on his chair and seemed annoyed with himself. He tapped a finger on the table and another idea popped up "Stars, night sky, what about them?"

"They're very pretty!" Muddler answered happily.

"Perfect."

*

The day went from drowsy to nighttime, a fall night is always very cold so the two made sure to get cozy before going out. Muddler still held onto his birthday buttons as they crept up the hill not too far from Hodgkins' house in the forest, he was curious as to what any of this could mean.

Hodgkins lay down a blanket and lantern on the ground and sat on it, he patted his side and the Muddler followed, sitting right next to him.

"Excuse me, but.... Why are we here?" Muddler asked, looking up at his uncle but then getting distracted by his visible breath in the cold air.

"Your grandmother did this every year for mine and your father's birthdays. Look at the stars, the moon, and tell stories until either of us fell asleep,"

Muddler gasped "Dad told me stories for my birthday! Are YOU gonna tell me a story??"

"She made them up on the spot I think- can't do that myself. Horrible storyteller."

"Oh come on! I'll like it! Even if it's bad!" Muddler insisted.

Hodgkins stared at Muddler from the sheer bluntness of that what he said, Hodgkins shook his head and tried to think "If you insist..." he leaned forward and thought deeply. Muddler waited very patiently.

Hodgkins suddenly started mumbling; "A story starts with once upon a time, I suppose..." he leaned back and thought some more, finally, he had something, and started to speak;

Once upon a time, there were... Two brothers. Princes. They lived with their mother and father the king and queen.

They two were opposites but inseparable and cared for eachother very much, the younger was very artistic and loved the natural beauty of the world around him, the older was objective and sought to create new things from the already existing. They lived a boring but functional family life, the queen being a complicated woman of foreign origins, and the king being a distinguished gentleman with secrets he daren't tell. Things went on as you'd expect with such a family, until one day the father was killed by a horrid snake and the castle fell to ruin and the kidgdom fell apart. Despite all this; the brothers stayed together for as long as they could, but then the younger fell in love and had gotten married, leaving his elder brother behind. The elder felt happy, as the younger had always wanted this to happen, but he couldn't help but feel let down deep in the back of his head. The younger brother had a child and he wanted to become a real artist and make his name known in the world beyond his relation to royalty, but time and time again that chance was denied and he had to settle for a lesser job that made him deeply, DEEPLY unhappy. And then one spring....

Hodgkins stopped as he felt something gently hit his paw on the ground, he looked down and saw that Muddler had already fallen asleep. Hodgkins sighed and picked up his nephew.

"Knew the story was terrible..." he whispered to himself "Wasn't even being original."

Welp time to join a second almost dead fandom first it was the moomins now it’s off-