Moomin Papa - Tumblr Posts

Got me some Moomin Biscuits! These things slap!

Non triggering re-cap of chapter two of The DM!memoirs au,

After the tragic loss of muddler Hodgkins went to his pilot house to more or less suffer in silence, Moomin stayed with Joxter and tried to comfort him until joxter pushed him away, moomin papa went for a walk off the ship to see if any one enhabits the Island they where currently on, after a while Joxter was unnerved by the current situation and left the ship as well ending up in him bumping into Moomin again asking the mymble s daughter some questions about the island, she explained that it was the kings 100th birthday so every one on the island was at his castle Moomin suggests they go to get permission from the king for a burial and suggested to get Hodgkins input on it first before going, Joxter said that he wanted some more time alone and suggested that Moomin and Hodgkins go instead Joxter then spent his time wandering and looking for a decent place for the burial sight to be located so he would at least be doing some thing helpful while Moomin and Hodgkins did the hard part of talking to the king, Moomin talked to Hodgkins and got him on board to go to the party naturally Hodgkins only agreed because he needed and answer, the mumbled daughter helped them through the maze and the pranks and Moomin for the most part was trying to have fun and even convince Hodgkins to lighten up a bit and have some fun as well. Hodgkins wasn’t having it and destroyed one of the fake prank spiders along the maze out of anger before going into the party he cut straight to the point and walked straight up to king Jones to ask the question and at first king Jones thought the question was a strange dark humor joke after all no one has ever asked his permission to bury some one- he agreed awkwardly and since Hodgkins got the answer he needed he headed back to the ship with Moomin, meanwhile Joxter found a peaceful place that would be a nice resting place for muddler before heading back to the ship and laying down on the couch in Hodgkins pilot house while he waited for Hodgkins and Moomin to get back, (end of chapter two re-cap)

(Non-triggering version of joxter being emotional over the loss-)

Chapter 6 of the DM!memoirs au, (trigger free) and edited with the help of @flowerbloom-arts !

Fuzzy was the first to wake up in the morning, as she was used to waking up rather early. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, she opened the lid of the can you get some light in and she noticed Joxter wasn’t in there so she got out of the can to see if he was anywhere around. She left her basket behind in the can because she felt as though it was safe there, which was a first for her. When she went to look for Joxter she made sure to look up at the trees and lo and behold she spotted him sleeping in one.

“How hasn’t he fallen down at all...?” She wondered “Joxter? Are you alright up there?” she squeaked.

Joxter woke up and started rubbing his eyes “Ughhh five more minutes...“ he mumbled.

“How do you manage to sleep up there so easily?”

“I just do.“ yawned the Joxter, he then started to climb down the tree because once someone has waken him up in the morning it was hard for him to fall back asleep so easily.

“I’m so sorry that I disturbed your sleep! I just wanted to make sure you were okay up there-!”

“Just fine. What about you? How did you sleep?”

“Rather cozy, actually! Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” said the Fuzzy contently.

“Good, because we both have a long day ahead.”

“We do? Sorry, pardon me- I mean, you do too? Besides me trying to find a job, what do you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking instead of you trying to find a job today I could show you how to forage and other things properly. If I’m being honest that’s how I survive out here most days, so it’ll be good for you to learn it.”

“I suppose you're right, so... where should we start?”

“First let's get something we can hold our findings in. I tend to use my hat for that. But you might need a second basket since your current basket is filled with your collection already, you can go grab something from the tin that might work.”

“Ok then!” said the Fuzzy sort of excited for this little 'adventure', she went back into the tin to look for something that could be of use, then she saw a beat up pot on Joxter's side of the can and she thought it would be perfect. She got out of the can with the pot in paw “Is this alright? I found it on your side-“

Joxter went wide-eyed and yanked it from Fuzzy unexpectedly “Don't you dare touch this ever again!”

Fuzzy was surprised and startled, she looks as though she shrank a little “S-sorry- did I do something wrong...?”

Joxter realized he scared her and sighed, holding the pot to his chest “I’m... I'm sorry it’s just... this pot is off limits. I should have said that nicer...” he said as he felt guilt rush over him.

“It’s okay... it’s just... what's so special about the pot anyhow...?”

“It was my friend's... he used to wear it on his head like a hat all the time, he was a total dork but I think it suited him well... I promise this is one of the only things that are off limits.“

“Ah, I think I understand now- I’m still very sorry.” replied the Fuzzy with her ears going down guiltily.

“I know, I know, I really should stop having such an attachment to such... trivial things... I should start letting go some time...”

“Joxter it’s only understandable that you're... upset about this in particular- I’ll go find something else, alright?”

“... Fuzzy- wait-!“ said the Joxter suddenly in a serious tone.

“Yes...?” replied the Fuzzy sheepishly

“YOU JUST CALLED ME JOXTER!” He said excitedly “YOU FINALLY CALLED ME JOXTER INSTEAD OF JOXSIR OR SIR! THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!” He was joking around and twirled twice acting a bit silly.

Fuzzy was startled at first but it turned into a giggle, she was happy to see his mood change to a happy one “You startled me for a moment! I thought you were being cross, but it’s good to see you so happy about this!“

Joxter went back over to the tin to put the old pot back in and took out a big bowl that could work for Fuzzy's findings.

“Here, this should work for carrying what we'll forage instead!“

“Oh perfect! Now what’s the next step?”

“Well the next step is helping you differentiate certain plants and foods,” he answered as they walked along the forest until they made it to an area with some berry bushes.

“Now look closely at these two plants; what differences do you see?” Joxter said to the Fuzzy as he pointed her to the berries.

Fuzzy took a close look and said “I’m not quite sure...? They both look very similar with the color and all...”

Joxter then pointed out “This one has serrated leaves and this one has smooth edges, the one with the serrated leaves are poisonous but the smooth leafed ones are good, but if you can’t tell by the leaves there’s also another way to tell;” he picked one berry off of each plant.

“What’s the second way?” asked the Fuzzy curiously.

“This!” Joxter then squeezed the berries in each paw.

"Poisonous ones will stain your paws even after you wash them but the good ones will clean right off!“

“Oh I see! But... how are you going to wash your paws now? There’s no stream near by-“

Joxter looked down at his paws “oh- you're right.“ he said light-heartedly.

Fuzzy smiled a bit and took a handkerchief out of her pocket “Here, you can use this to wipe your paws off as best you can!”

“Why thank you!“ replied the Joxter.

He tipped his hat before taking the handkerchief and wiping his paws, he then passed it back to her, took off his hat and started to pick some berries.

“So... what are these berries called?” Fuzzy asked.

Joxter shrugged “I have no clue.”

“Who taught you these things, then?”

“I taught myself naturally through trial and error, I suppose.”

“Oh dear, that sounds awful! You must have gotten sick so many times!“

“Just a couple of times but I’m fine,” he picked the good berries and Fuzzy did the same. After a while, they've collected a good amount of berries and Joxter stopped “I think that’s good for now, got to leave some for other creatures of course, and there’s a crab apple tree not too far from here.”

“A crab apple tree?” echoed the Fuzzy.

“Crab apples are like small apples that are more sour but edible nonetheless, I like them and in the early spring they're so tiny you can just chew on them and spit out the core once the flavor is gone.“

“Oh how interesting- except for the spitting part... that sounds sort of... well, icky.“

“My bad, that was a bit gross to mention,“ Joxter replied. Fuzzy started to eat some of the berries she picked earlier as they walked together, enjoying the nature around them.

They eventually found the crab apple tree, it wasn’t too tall of a tree, it was rather small and so were the apples hanging on it, Joxter picked one of the apples and tossed it to Fuzzy “Here, try one.” he said, and so she did

She tasted it for a moment before sticking her tounge out because of how tart it was compared to the sweet berries she had few minutes prior, Joxter chuckled a bit “Well, it isn’t for everyone, I guess!“

“It’s so sour...!“ she mumbled.

“Hahah! Oh, also the last thing I can teach you about today is probably fishing.“

“Fishing?” replied the Fuzzy “Do you have a fishing rod at all?”

“I don’t like to use fishing rods, I prefer to use my claws. Or a net too, but I don’t have the net with me, so I’ll be teaching you how to fish with your paws!”

Fuzzy looked surprised and worried “Oh but I’ll be awful at it, I know it!”

“Not unless you try it!“ replied the Joxter giving her a little pat on the back “How about this: you sit by the stream and watch how I do it, and if you feel like you want to try it say the word and I’ll help you, alright?”

Fuzzy smiled and nodded. Joxter put the rest of the berries that were in her bowl into his hat because he was planning on using the bowl she had to put the fish in before going to the nearest river.

Frankly, it seemed like he wanted to impress her, he rolled up his pant legs and his jacket sleeves as well as he glared to see into the water. Fuzzy sat there watching and eating more berries. Joxter attempted to catch a fish, he messed up on the first few tries until he finally caught one! The one he caught was quite a fighter so it flipped around trying to get away from him, Fuzzy smiled and cheered him on “Great job Joxter! It’s a big one too!”

Joxter was going to try and break the fish's neck with his paws to get it to stop moving but it was too slippery to break so he bit into it instead to stop it, Joxter held it in his mouth and gave Fuzzy a thumbs up as the fish stopped its motion slowly. Fuzzy was grossed out and terrified by seeing the poor fish die in front of her like that, Joxter went over to her and saw the fear on her face.

“What’s wrong?” muffled the Joxter with the fish still in his mouth.

“I-I’ve never seen someone kill a fish with their teeth like that-“

“Oh.“ mumbled the Joxter before taking the fish out of his mouth “Guessing it’s a bad thing then? I really should have brought a pocket knife with me or something- a lady shouldn’t have had to see that.“ he proceeded to put the fish in the bowl.

Fuzzy fidgeted with her paws “Oh no it’s alright, you did what you had to! It was rather impressive how you caught it like that, though.”

“Do you want to catch one too? I promise you won’t have to kill it like I did, I’ll do that part if you like.”

“Hmmm... Well... no, not yet. I think I need to watch a bit longer.”

"Alright, suit yourself.“ replied the Joxter.

“Oh but since you're catching fish I promise I’ll make dinner for us later! It’ll be nice!”

“Really? Well then! Is that your way of asking me out on a dinner date then?” he joked as he got back into the water.

Fuzzy stammered and her face went red “N-no! Excuse me, sorry, It’s just to show my gratitude, is all.”

Joxter chuckled light-heartedly “I’m kidding! I know that! Trust me, you can get much better than me.“ he then tried to grab another fish but this time it bounced out of his paws and smacked him in the face causing him to stumble backwards.

“J-Joxter?!” Said the fuzzy worriedly, she quickly went into the water trying to hold her skirt as she helped the wet Joxter up “Oh goodness I’m so sorry, I distracted you! Are you okay?” she asked.

“I must be fine since an angel just helped me up-“ said the Joxter in a smartass teasing tone, Fuzzy's face went bright red and she let go of his paw.

“I’m just happy you're okay! But... do you really think I look like an Angel...?” she asked sheepishly, flustered.

“Well- I-“ stammered Joxter not thinking she would take it seriously, he was suddenly cut off when Fuzzy accidently stepped on a fish that swam by causing her to stumble and fall into the water aswell and Joxter quickly helped her up.

“Are you okay, Fuzzy?”

“I-I’m ok I think... Oh goodness my only dress is all wet and gross now- what am I to do?” She said worriedly, holding up her dress.

“Well, we could simply sit here try to catch fish and have fun for once. Just dumb fun splashing eachother!” he said as he splashed her a tiny bit with his foot.

The Fuzzy didn't reply. She seemed a bit upset thinking about this little slip up of her's. Rather embarassed aswell, Joxter felt bad and went closer to her “Hey, I’m sorry- it’s alright! I’m sure we can figure something out and I’ll set up a fire back near the tin so you can dry off-“ he tried to reassure her then a little smirk started to cross her face and before joxter knew it she splashed him.

“Fuzzy!” He said rather surprised at the turn of events and the two playfully splashed eachother and laughed on about it. After they stopped, Joxter tried to teach Fuzzy how to fish. At first, she was scared to touch the slimy creatures but eventually she got the hang of it, though she kept dropping them every time she picked one up, Joxter helped her catch them again before they got away and they managed to catch about 3 more fish on top of the first one Joxter caught. Joxter got out of the water and gave Fuzzy a paw to help her out aswell, she was still smiling even if she was shivering from her wet clothes.

“Well today was fun, wouldn't you say?” said the joxter trying to squeeze out the extra water from the ends of his wet clothing. He was rather happy, he was the happiest he’s ever been, in fact.

“T-Today was amazing!” stuttered the Fuzzy through chattering teeth.

“Here, let’s get back to the tin so I can set up a fire for you, I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“T-thank you- I really wish I brought an extra dress or two with me when I left home...“

Joxter helped her out of the water and just... felt warm, strangely, despite the slight wind hitting his wet clothes and skin he felt warm and light like freshly baked bread, or rather on the inside like he had butterfly’s in his stomach.

“You don’t have anything dry to wear?” asked the Joxter.

“N-no... but I’ll be fine!” said the Fuzzy, trying not to cause a fuss.

“Once I get the fire started you can just rest and try to warm up, there's something I have to do first- I’ll be back soon after.”

The Fuzzy raised an eyebrow but agreed to it nonetheless, they got back to there area in the woods and Joxter helped fuzzy set up a fire before leaving to run the errand.

Joxter decided it would be best to ask Mymble if she had any extra dresses or something that Fuzzy could wear for the time being, he decided that along the way he should maybe see if anyone was careless enough to leave any clothes hanging out in the open that he could 'borrow'.

He walked to Mymble's house and knocked on the door, taking a few cautious steps back from it this time since he didn’t want to be trampled by the stampede of kids again. This time mymble just opened the door looking rather tired.

Joxter was surprised none of her kids followed her out “Hey Mymble, where're the kiddos?”

“Taking a nap for once.“ she said rather happily in a shushed tone “Why are you wet? Did you try taking a bath with your clothes on?”

“I fell into a stream while fishing, I was wondering if you had any extra dry dresses you would be willing to let me borrow.”

“Never took you as the cross-dressing type but sure!” joked the Mymble.

“No no, it’s for a friend of mine who fell into the river with me-“

“A friend?” asked the Mymble, surprised.

“I know what you're thinking-“

“Oh how wonderful! Listen Joxter, I don’t care if you have more than one partner, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t let you, you should bring her- or him... them? Anyways, do bring them over some time!”

“Now hold on, more than one partner? Mymble we aren’t partners, and I just said Fuzzy's just a friend! She isn’t my partner-!“

“Oh so her name is Fuzzy? How nice! And you're right, we aren’t dating, we’re parents!” said the Mymble cheerfully as she stepped outside the house.

“Wait, what?!” replied the Joxter, going wide eyed.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, dear! I’m pregnant and I know it’s yours since you're the only man I’ve seen in months now, and I’m thrilled! I feel like... you’ve been the only one to stay around this long and we have a connection... I think this is the last kid I plan on having, atleast for a while.“

“Mymble, please stop for a moment- if this is a joke you have to stop-“

“Joxter, it’s not a joke... you're not happy..?”

“N-no! Yes? I don’t know! This is so sudden! I didn’t even consider us dating!”

“You didn’t? But we spent so much time together!”

“I know and now I feel awful!”

“... Jox...” sighed the Mymble.

“Mymble, I’m sorry I just... I’ll be here for you and the kid of course! It’s just... gosh this is a lot...so this is why Moomin thought you and I where settling down, eh...?“

“Joxter, I love you, you know that right...?”

“I know and that’s why I feel awful about all of this! I... I love you to it’s just... I’m not ready to love or be loved, not right now atleast... I don’t think... At least I didn’t think so until recently- and I’m just... just barely starting to consider dating again! And I’m certainly I’m not prepared to be a father! I’ll be awful at it!”

“I’ve seen how you are with my kids, you're wonderful with them! They absolutely adore you! I know it’ll be hard but you’ll be a good father-“

“But Mymble the kids are just... so smothering it’s so much for me! I like my space!”

“I know you do! You won’t have to stay here everyday you know! I’m not expecting to keep you tied down, especially since you have your other girlfriend-!”

“MYmBle she's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND-“ he said defensively.

“If she wasn’t you wouldn't be throwing a fit like this-“ she tried to say lightheartedly as she hugged him close for a moment despite him being damp with river water “It’s alright to be like this you know.“

“Confused, worried, in love, with more than one person at once, it’s just polyamory- and I’m fine with it and as long as the girl you like is ok with it then there’s no problem, you’ll be able to split your time with me and her if you’d like you know, we could come up with something!” she said positively.

“IM nOt-...” Joxter then quickly went quiet and had a look on his face, the sort of look of pure thought and confliction “I... I'm still in denial about all of this...” he mumbled.

“Understandable.“ replied the mymble “You have time to think about all of this, alright darling? For now let me lend you those dresses for the lady friend of yours. Fuzzy, was it?”

“Yeah, it’s Fuzzy.” Joxter continued mumbling.

"Well, if you ever decide to bring Fuzzy over and explain what you want to her, make sure she knows I'd welcome her with open arms and share you with her!“ she said joyfully before going inside and retrieving a few dresses.

Joxter was still in disbelief and thought to himself “I’m going to be a father... I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER! SHIT, I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER? For heaven's sake this is all too much! I love mymble but- I think I have a thing for Fuzzy to- you think? No you know you do! You haven’t felt this way for a long time! You felt that weird flutter in your stomach all over again earlier! Just like... how you used to be with Muddler... she makes you feel just like he used to- you're already attached to her! Is it only because she reminds you of Muddler or is it because you do sincerely like her company? Why are you debating this! Of course you like her company! Even if she reminded you of Muddler in the very beginning that’s not the only reason you like her now! She’s kind and thoughtful and gentle and she’s such great company once she’s gotten out of her shell a bit! What if she’s not ok with this whole polyamory thing...? Does this mean Mymble and I are official? God I wish I had at least made it 'official' in a more romantic way- what was I thinking!” His thought was cut off by Mymble putting a paw on his shoulder.

“Here Jox, some dry dresses! Just take your time to process this all, the baby won’t be born for another 7 or 6 months anyway so you have time to think about what You want to do. Just keep me in the loop, alright?” Mymble said gently.

Joxter gulped for a moment and gave a nod “Thank you Mymble...”

“Anytime dear.“ she gave him a kiss on the forhead and Joxter gently hugged her and stood on the tips of his toes to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll... think about it...“

Joxter then slowly walked home with the dresses in hand... muddled and baffled by it all, he then saw some dry clothes hanging on a wire outside of someone's home, the clothes in question were a dark blue jacket and some brown pants. He took them and booked it out of there back to the can, when he got there Fuzzy was humming a gentle tune while she cooked some fish over the fire in a frying pan.

Joxter looked at her and his cheeks went red with the thought of his feelings towards her being apparent coming to mind.

“Hey Fuzzy, I’m back.“

“Oh wonderful! Dinner almost ready!“ her dress was still damp but not drenched like before.

“I got a dress for you to wear while yours dries.“

“Oh! Thank you Joxter! But where did you get it?”

“Uhm... a friend of mine let me borrow them once she heard the situation- they might be a bit big on you, though.”

“And by 'borrow' you mean steal...?”

“Oh no no! But the jacket and pants for myself here I did steal-“

“Oh goodness-“ said fuzzy as she thought of the idea of stealing though she didn’t say much more about it since who was she to judge? Then she took one of the red dresses. “Well I’m going into the tin to get changed, thank you again for this!“

"You're welcome.“ replied Joxter with a faint smile. The Fuzzy then went to do what she said she would and joxter sat there by the fire to warm up a bit.

Meanwhile, Fuzzy slipped off her damp dress and put on the dry one, in the privacy of the tin can she was starting to gush to herself over Joxter and how silly and layed back he is, by how sweet he is! To her he was perfect- though his smell and the way he dressed could be improved, it wasn’t to bad and she didn’t mind those flaws! she was certain she had found true love and was hyped, but she was worried her feelings would make things weird so she decided to wait it out the best she could.

She got out of the can in the red dress that was a few sizes too big on her but it was cozy at least. She retrieved two plates and some silverware from the can before bringing it back to the fire so she could serve herself and Joxter the dinner of fish she had had been roasting, she noticed Joxter was lost in thought and interrupted him.

“Sorry, but uhm... would you like me to make you a plate...?”

“Hm-“ said Joxter suddenly snapping out of thought “Oh sure! Thank you! Did you really cook all this yourself?”

“Indeed I did! And I made some fresh berry juice as well with some sugar, water and honey.”

Joxter smiled “how resourceful. Hold on a moment as I go get changed too.“ he took the dry clothes he had for himself and went to the can to change.

“A bit uncomfortable, but it’ll have to do until my clothes dry.“ he said as he came back to the fire and sat down.

Fuzzy looked over to him and smiled “You look rather dashing in that shade of blue...”

“You really think so...?” replied the Joxter.

“Indeed.” answered the Fuzzy before starting to eat.

And things where going wonderful.

Just wonderful...

But wonderful things don’t always stay wonderful.

This-this right here? Yea I’m going to make so much fan art of this eventually-

Soooooo I had this quick-ish alternate universe idea and wrote it up for 4 hours straight. It is very much angst material but it's not super angsty until the end where it goes very hard.

Characters include the Oshun Oxtra (including the Nibling), takes place after the crew drift off to sea and this is about 3 thousand words long!

This may or may not be a part 1 but I'm not making promises as I've learned that I'm horrible at them.

So, yeah, hope you enjoy!

It was only very recently that the Oshun Oxtra had lost its anchor and set off to the great blue beyond of which Muddler felt ill to think the sheer vastness of, let alone of the things that lurk beneath the blue-green tinted darkness that stared back at him whenever he looked over the railing. Despite his best judgements and his wisdom, he couldn't help but be pulled toward the side of the ship every now and then just to peer into the sea that his uncle and apparently his father were fond of in concept, his imagination (or very little imagination, as according to most creatures) couldn't help but drift to picturing the unimaginable horrors that could live in the cold, empty, salty void that only the boat could be protecting him from, it was a guilty passtime between reorganizing and re-reorganizing his collection as he so often does, despite his obvious fear of the vast entity and his own imagination.

"See anything in the water?" asked the young stowaway Nibling from behind, indeed the one who had chewed off the river-boat's anchor in the middle of two nights ago "How come you keep looking over there?" he continued asking and approached the Muddler, too short to look over the railing himself.

The Muddler snapped away from his thoughts and looked down at the Nibling with embarrassment and even confusion at his own actions "O- oh, excuse me! I'm sorry! I'm not... I don't see anything, as of yet, I'm just checking the waters just in case... You- you know how there can be dangerous things there, right? Have to keep an eye out!"

"Uh...huh," the Nibling replied with a small hesitant nod and trotted his way to the Muddler's Maxell House Coffee™ tin in small, sticky steps.

Muddler's gaze followed the Nibling and was all too concerned about why he would go there, not wanting to seem rude, he silently followed the Nibling, making sure not to step on the Nibling's trail lest his gloved feet get stuck — or be left without footwear. The Nibling tried to claw up the tin with his small paws and Muddler simply crossed his arms and said "I'm... I'm sorry but I'm not going to let you inside the tin again! You made my playing cards into collage art and my silverware into a plate just from walking on them! I'm not sure if I can let you do something like that again...!" and suddenly guilt welled up and his meek conscience, he uncrossed his arms and held his mouth "Excuse me! Sorry! I hope that didn't seem too rude, Mr. Nibling..."

"I suppose that is fair, but I don't know how I can help it like I can't help from gnawing on the big rope! It's something I'm built with!" cried the Nibling.

"But the least you could do is try to learn from it and avoid it, right...? Try not bothering- I mean, stepping on things too much? Maybe I could find you a pair of socks you could wear while you're on board?" the Muddler offered.

"Do you think that would work?" replied the Nibling.

"We'll have to try! Though it might be a while before I could find a pair small enough for you... Don't suppose I hoarded some from when I was much smaller..." the Muddler pondered to himself before entering the tin.

The Nibling waited very eagerly as metallic and other sorts of noises clunk and banged from inside the enormous coffee tin, intermingled with Muddler's undecipherable mumbling and wordless exclamations. The eagerness subsided as it was clear this really was meant to take a while as Muddler hypothesized, so the Nibling eventually just sat beside the tin and waited patiently for the Muddler to return from his journey through the condensed junk yard found within the tin.

All the while, Hodgkins, the Muddler's aforementioned uncle and captain of this river-boat, and the Moomin, a very new person who had entered their lives and seemed much more interested in interacting with the captain more than anything, were holding operations and chatting in the pilot-house (it was more of a one-sided conversation with Moomin taking the lead, but still). Moomin was proudly steering the boat as Hodgkins made fixes and adjustments in the small tower, as the man much preferred to occupy himself with tweaking every little thing on his creation to make sure things run as smoothly as it can, especially as the river-boat was not meant to sail across the sea, it'd be safer if the Oshun Oxtra was more prepared as it went on.

They would also still need to ration their food and other supplies for this sort of trip, Hodgkins would have to warn Muddler, the crew's chef, cleaner and other things, about having to minimize the consumption and usage of the food supply in their meals, but of course they would have to take into account their food going bad, contamination, having an extra mouth to possibly feed, a plan B in case of miscalculation... Goodness, why did that Nibling have to stowaway and ruin everything like this? These are far too many variables to consider just for food of all things, they'd also have to worry about clean water and sanitation and potential danger and morale or sanity, most of which Hodgkins barely has a proper grasp on to even begin thinking on it!

"Wouldn't you think so, Hodgkins?" Moomin's voice suddenly broke through the train of thought.

"Hm?" Hodgkins turned around to face Moomin, utterly lost as to what he was talking about.

"Oh, perhaps I didn't speak too clearly- I meant that exploring such a vast place such as the ocean would be great for our prospects of being adventurers, right?" Moomin elaborated. And that was quite literally the opposite perspective from what Hodgkins was thinking of.

"Not quite," Hodgkins answered, attention going to the map on the pilot-house's wall "Considering all the practicalities that come with it. And the danger. Can't even be sure where we could be..." he landed a knee on the couch beneath the map and tried to pinpoint their location with his finger, he circled the North Sea as he was aware they were leaving the east of England, so it figures they would be in that particular part of the world "We're somewhere here, I think. Might be closer to our country, hard to tell. The area is too large to pinpoint, still, very likely rife with sea-monsters, or storms... I'm no expert," Hodgkins shrugged "We have to be prepared, don't want my nephew or Joxter or you to get hurt."

Moomin looked at Hodgkins and asked "What about you?"

"That, too," he replied and sat on the couch "Eyes where you're steering, Moomin."

"Oh, aye Captain," Moomin turned around toward the window, suddenly he noticed some dark clouds over the horizon and felt uneasy, he checked the barometer at his side "Hodgkins, I believe there might be a storm approaching if my eyes don't deceive me..."

Hodgkins tilted his head and noticed the dark clouds approaching, his ear flicked and he stood up "I'll consult Joxter, see if he has any input," he said and approached the door.

"Are you really going to think that Joxter would know how to tell the future?" Moomin said impatiently.

"Just for a gist, I trust his forebodings," Hodgkins replied and left. He could hear Moomin mumbling something under his breath before shutting the door.

Hodgkins went to Muddler's tin, ignored the Nibling sitting beside it and knocked on the lid for Muddler himself to peer out, Hodgkins leaned sideways to look his nephew in the eye "Storm approaching, we need Joxter's opinion," he said and lifted the lid up.

"Oh gosh! A storm?" exclaimed the Muddler and got out "I'm sorry that I couldn't find socks for you, Nibling, but this seems more important!" he apologized.

"It's alright! Storms are pretty scary, I think, I'd leave finding socks to do something else too if I were you," the Nibling said and turned the corner to look toward the dark clouds approaching and gulped.

Hodgkins basically dragged Muddler by the arm as the poor creature seemed so horrified at the sight of it that he froze, but of course he had to stumble in the direction Hodgkins was leading him, which was below deck.

Joxter had been sleeping in the, well, sleeping quarters for a few hours now as he usually did. He heard the two approaching from a above and slightly lifted his hat to see what they were intending to do there, then Hodgkins nudged Muddler to approach Joxter, which he did.

"Hey, sorry to wake you, Joxter..." Muddler said sheepishly.

"It's quite alright," he replied gently and sat up from his bed "Is anything the matter?"

"There's... There's a storm incoming, I think, and we hope that you might know if how bad it's going to be? Please?" Muddler answered. Joxter held a finger up to his chin with a very non-serious expression on his face "Joxter! This is serious!" Muddler added, unamused by this attempt at humour.

"Alright! Goodness!" Joxter said and got down from his bed, he walked past Hodgkins and said "Hullo to you too, captain Hodgkins," with a sarcastic salute jabbing at the lack of greeting from him. Hodgkins rolled his eyes and the three of them went above deck together, the storm noticeably being closer than before "Yep, that seems like an awful storm coming soon..." Joxter commented before a pain pierced his nose.

"Ah! Fiddlesticks!" he exclaimed painfully, holding his face "MMM... YES! Darn it! This will be an awful one indeed!" he cried. Muddler held Joxter worriedly and tried to hug his arm.

"I should get inside the tin, then-"

"I wouldn't recommend getting in the tin for protection, dear," Joxter interrupted Muddler and looked at him with a serious expression, then looked up at the sky cautiously.

Moomin broke the door open "The barometer is getting seriously low!" he yelled, looking (metaphorically) pale.

"I'll be steering," Hodgkins mildly yelled back and climbed the stairs to the pilot house "The rest of you go below deck until this is over."

"Excuse me! But what about the coffee tin!?" Muddler cried to his uncle.

"Afraid it can't be brought with you," Hodgkins said, and he was being very truthful in this as the stairway's entrance couldn't fit the coffee tin even if they somehow managed to carry it all the way there.

"NO!!!" screamed the Muddler.

Joxter held Muddler as he squirmed to approach Hodgkins "It will be alright!" he said, he proceeded to escort Muddler below deck. Moomin followed thereafter but not without giving Hodgkins a concerned look.

Hodgkins grabbed the steering wheel and then noticed the sticky sensation on the floor as he stepped on it, he turned around and saw the Nibling was sitting on the couch behind him "Since... When did you get here?" he asked.

"Since Muddler left with you," Nibling answered candidly.

Hodgkins stared at the Nibling for a few seconds, then shook his head and looked forward at the storm.

Below deck, the three crewmates were waiting for the storm to pass. Joxter smoked and played solitaire with his deck of cards, Moomin was pacing around the room, and Muddler sat balled up in the corner of the room, anxious for both his uncle and his coffee tin. This went on with quiet uneasiness and downright paranoia for a few minutes before the boat started noticeably swaying and ruined the Joxter's game, though he merely shrugged off the loss as bigger priorities were in order. The crew could hear the coffee tin gliding across the ceiling in all sorts of directions above their heads, which didn't do much aside from giving the Joxter and Moomin a sense of how much the boat is swaying and putting Muddler on the verge of a heart attack, this went on for a several long minutes until Muddler couldn't bear the sound or thought anymore and decided to go above despite the others' urgent warning and his own logical reasoning.

The door to the exit was dripping with water and, with a shakey paw, Muddler opened it to witness the great rainstorm and raging tides that swayed the river-boat unfit for such weather. Muddler trembled and tried to lift himself up and saw his tin sliding past. Overcome with a near-animalistic impulse to protect his collection, he almost ran after it before his uncle yelled at him asking what he was doing there and that he told him to stay below deck. Muddler suddenly felt regret strike him through the spine but his attention was soon switched with the priority of his tin above even himself. It was a cartoonish goose chase around the deck as the Muddler would trip before catching his tin and his uncle was simply trying his best to keep the ship from capsizing.

Muddler finally managed to hold onto his tin in a moment of sudden calm and relief. The storm was fading into a shower, the weather became brighter, and Muddler was gasping for air from exhaustion.

He seemed proud of himself for such a foolish venture, he beat the storm and made it out intanct, he didn't lose anything, he was fine, everything was fine. He's alright. There's nothing he should be afraid of anymore. Muddler could slip and hit the ground comfortably knowing that the tin is safe.

The boat jossled and then a large thing which seemed like a pillar or a tentacle shot out by the boat's side from underwater and threw everyone on the boat in the air, including the coffee tin. The pillar retreated back into the sea and so did the boat violently rock from side to side. The coffee tin flew across the boat, hit the railing and before Muddler could catch up to it, it slid off into the depths, the lid opened and everything sank into the unknown darkness right before Muddler's eyes.

The boat finally stabilized again. The last few droplets from the big finale landed. Muddler stood frozen over the railing, arms reaching out below, breathing heavily, eyes widened.

Muddler was in shock.

What happened? What was that? Why? Questions echoed in his head. The thoughts were akin to a small child asking innocent questions about the event, and then it quickly descended into accusatory madness trying to come up with an answer himself. In only a few seconds his mind was barking a thousand hateful reasons as to why this happened to him, all pointing at him for the blame, all overwhelming him with spite, and he didn't like it. The thoughts hounded him like rabid dogs, saying that this is was a punishment for his misdeeds and idiocy, screaming that this was his inevitability after so long, and others would squeak back questions of whys and hows. These thoughts would clash and yell over eachother, echoing and repeating, growling and seething, whirling and reeling, they mangled every corner of his consciousness and left no room to breath, all weeping and wrecking every shred of love he had within him.

It wasn't only the loss of his coffee tin that made this happen; something similar happened with the loss of Hodgkins' house to the foot of Edward the Booble, but at the very least it was the tangible fault of someone else, and he had his things and his family, then after a long while after Hodgkins revealed his secret project, he almost choked him with a cogwheel over breakfast, then he painted the boat and got paint all over himself, then painted his tin, then slept in paint all night, then he had to prepare for moving away from a home he's known his whole life, then almost suffocated and drowned in his tin during a river flood, then wished for the Groke to have eaten a hemulen who was promptly taken away by Niblings right after, then he couldn't make any use of himself on the boat, and now he lost his precious collection that kept him sane through all of this. What's next? Losing Hodgkins and Joxter?

His thoughts continued to scream at him, the uncohesive riot slowly gained organization and turned into an angry choir of 'you deserve this', he deserved it for being so dumb, he deserved it for all the things he did over his blurry childhood, he deserved it for being so sensitive, he deserved it for making his uncle almost eat a cogwheel, he deserved it for not thinking ahead, he deserved it for wishing the Hemulen Aunt to be eaten, he deserved having everything taken away from him, parents, home, collection and soon, all. Existing felt like a painful thing after all of this. He just wants it to end now, this weight on his chest, this pain all over his mind and body, this oversensitivity toward everything, having to play both the angry parent and the hurt and guilty child at the same time. He pulled his thoughts together into a quiet desire to just disappear. To do a favor for everyone else and not bother them any longer. Dark, somewhat bloody tears flooded down his face (this is normal for him and his species, Muddlers have tears like dogs) like they do all the time when he feels this. He just wanted to go away, to leave everyone alone, to not have to deal with how he thinks or feels.

The dark clouds parted as the storm ended. Sunbeams shined through and lit up the Oshun Oxtra. Muddler, though, flickered in and out of visibility as the sun's rays expressed no desire to touch something so pathetic and undeserving of their light, and soon his face faded, then the rest of clothes, only leaving a floating saucepan in the air. Out of sight, out of mind, as the Muddler so quietly desired, but he was still physically present, he was there, you just couldn't see him.

Hodgkins rushed out the pilot-house and approached the floating pan where he witnessed Muddler disappear. He reached out a hesitant paw and felt Muddler's jacket where it was meant to be, but still couldn't see. The saucepan rotated in the air as if it turned to look at him, Hodgkins seemed completely lost on any of this.

"Muddler...?" he managed to let out very quietly, misty-eyed.

Joxter and Moomin got out from below deck when they sensed the storm passed, and Hodgkins tried his best to explain what happened without cracking.

POV:muddler has had ENOUGH anD just turns invisible-“

@flowerbloom-arts (go check out blooms fanfic fic for better context!)

Heya people!

The next chapter of the DM!Au will take a bit longer then usual to make, I want to work on my original series before I go back to making the fan fiction.

I absolutely love writing the fic but it’s time consuming and I have other things to balance, if any one has any sorts of questions about the au or the future of it please feel free to dm me! Or just add a comment!

(I will be posting doodles of Joxter and fuzzy along the way once in a while don’t you worry though!)

I would like to add on to this!

I feel like moomin would kiss the back of wimsys hand here and there and he would slow dance with wimsy if they where ever at a party and they played a slow song or if a couples dance came on- moomin(papa) thought it was the decent thing to do since they where both “singles” but wimsy was oblivious to it and thought it was sincere

Poor wimsy would go along with all of moomins outlandish (some times illegal ideas of adventure and chaos and such because he sincearly had feelings for the guy and I feel like they would exchange poetry together, poetry that would seem so romantic but only one sided

(wasn’t there a point where moomin papa said he had a poetry faze of some sort? I don’t know where I heard this or why I thought of it but correct me if I’m wrong)

Or to add on to then swapping poetry eventually that poetry is written for miss moomin (young moomin mama) and moomin(papa) asks Wimsy what he thinks of it before revealing it’s for a “lovely lady he rescued from the sea shore” and that all the other poetry before was just flowery practice for when he finally fell in love and wanted to write real poetry and this just shatters wimsys heart

Wimsy: you wrote this...?”

Moomin(papa): yes yes I know poetry isn’t my strong suit but what do you think...?”

Wimsy; It’s... it’s amazing! Well written and well- thought out as well-“ *wimsy gushing over the poem*

Moomin(papa):Oh great! Miss moomin will love this!”

Wimsy: Miss w h o ?”

After all who could care about some

Dumb hemulen like him?”

👤Headcanon👤

The Muddler and Joxter have been in a romantic relationship for a very long time but never informed Moomin about it. And Moomin, being a friendless and naive lad fresh out of the orphanage, managed to mistake Muddler and Joxter's affection as purely platonic, and assumed this is how male friendships usually go.

Things get really awkward between him and Wimsy once either of them figures it out years later.

Hey so I noticed this picture in the background of an episode of Moominvalley and I was like “is that moomin mama and moomin papas wedding photo by chance? So I re-drew it how I saw the mysteriously unspecified blob in the photo frame!

Old moomin fanart that was mainly a texture test