Moomins Au - Tumblr Posts

Hey update on my moomins au! It will be referred to as “DMmemoirs” or the “DM!au” DM standing for dead muddler naturally,

Second thing is that I’m planning on writing a re-cap of what happened in the first chapter just with less details so people who do have triggers can read it a bit more comfortably, with a version of the original illustration made for chapter one but without the red paint covering muddler because it could look like Some thing triggering to some one else,

Hopefully chapter two will be written by today as well but no promises on that. Welp that’s all for now thanks for reading!

NON TRIGGERING (much shorter) RE-cap of chapter one of the DM memoirs au,

Chapter one Muddler is lifted out of the can of red paint once the oshun oxtra sailed off.

but after ingesting some of the paint and being covered in it he became awfully ill.

(Version of the art without the red paint)

the rest of the crew was worried about him, Joxter stayed by his side the entire time, Hodgkins was desperately trying to find some where to land to get Muddler help, and Moomin(papa) was convinced that Muddler just had the flu and that he would be ok, Muddler made Joxter promise that if any thing where to happen to him he would take care of his precious can and Joxter promised to do so but told Muddler not to think like that because he will be ok at the end of this.

Muddler got some rest and Hodgkins luckily found a place for them to land the boat, (they landed in the autocrat kings island of course) but by the time they landed it was to late for Muddler, Hodgkins was devastated and shut himself out to the rest of the crew to mourn.

Joxter was torn up by it and tried to wake muddler up, moomin stayed behind to calm joxter down the best he could but to no avail, (end of re-cap)

DM!memoirs au Chapter 2

(TRIGGER WARNING! Mention of burial/funeral, and well just over all emotional stuff?)

The boat had been landed for some time before anyone decided to step off...

Joxter, after bawling his eyes out for at least an hour straight and his voice had become hoarse from yelling, had now sat on the floor a small distance away from the cold corpse in simple disbelief, his head pounded from all of this all so suddenly. Moomin sat there with joxter not sure how to... help? How to react? He wasn’t as close to Muddler as Joxter or Hodgkins were of course but he still felt immense remorse and sorrow for the two.

“I... I shouldn’t have let him sleep...” mumbled the Joxter in a quiet, saddened voice.

“Don’t blame yourself, Joxter.” replied the Moomin, hesitantly patting Joxter's back.

Joxter stared at the covered body with a pained look “Maybe if I didn’t let him sleep he would have... He would've still been alive now-“

Moomin cleared his throat anxiously “Joxter... at least he died peacefully... maybe you should come get some fresh air with me outside...?”

“Do you really think right now is the right time? He’s already gone, don’t try to rip me away from him more.”

“I just mean this is unhealthy for you to just... stare... I’m not saying move on right this minute but at least get some air- try to bring yourself together-“

“Moomin, will you just- shut up and leave it be?! Leave ME be! If YOU want to leave then go right ahead! I need... time.”

The Moomin gave a nod, looking down guiltily he slowly left the lower deck of the ship to leave Joxter with his dead lover, he was thinking about checking in on Hodgkins but... He didn't know how Hodgkins would react to being comforted. He stepped out to the top deck of the boat and looked out to the new land they found themselves in, he decided to let down the ramp and get off, take a small walk around to see if he could find anyone to check if this place was inhabited.

Meanwhile the Joxter scooted closer to the Muddler's body partially wanting to uncover his face to see him one last time knowing it wouldn’t be long before he’s unable to see him ever again. Knowing the inevitability of having to bury his best friend, and the first person he had ever truly fallen in love with. he of course couldn't stomach the thought of uncovering his corpse, so he went ahead and held Muddler's cold paw for a moment instead, soon after quickly letting go. The sinking feeling of knowing there was no more life in that body... in the body that was once a living person... it was an awful feeling that was almost suffocating, he quickly ran out of the lower deck to the top deck unable to bear it any longer. He leaned over the edge of the boat, unable to comprehend his current feelings.

Meanwhile; Hodgkins had been sitting in the pilot-house suffering similarly but in silence. The young man he had raised just all of a sudden gone, from something so avoidable no less. Something he could easily blame himself for. He had been staring blankly out the window, he had watched when Moomin left the boat and he saw when Joxter stood hunched over the railing. Part of him wanted to go and comfort Joxter. But why would he? So he can inevitably fail at it? To make the situation worse? What was he to say? He never said much in the first place especially to Joxter and he and Joxter butted heads more or less since Joxter was young. But, since Muddler begged him to let Joxter stay with them, why shouldn’t he go comfort Joxter? He practically raised him as well since he was by Muddler's side for ages, yet he knew he couldn’t say he was as close to Joxter as he was with Muddler. He had a second awful feeling bubbling up, the feeling that he had failed as an adoptive father figure, to both Joxter and Muddler. He felt angry with himself for a moment and slammed his paws on his desk before shouting out loud:

“WHY?!”

Such a shout had almost shaken the entire boat with it, Joxter heard it and decided to step off the boat as well, he had never heard Hodgkins yell like that before, and he didn’t want to see the details of it all, Joxter wandered alone on the new landscape.

He walked along the short stone walls to get a feel for where he was so he wouldn’t get lost so soon, so he could make his way back to where he was for the most part, he then came across Moomin again, who was talking to the mymble's daughter, asking questions about this place.

“This is the Autocrat's kingdom! How wouldn't you know that? Also I’m not allowed to talk to strangers, my mother will be upset-“ giggled the girl before opening the door and stepping out, Joxter went over to them. Moomin turned his attention to him.

“Oh, Joxter! Are you doing better?” Asked the Moomin.

Joxter looked down and shrugged “Better than Hodgkins at least... or... I think so anyways. Why are you talking to a little girl?”

“Ugh, you make it sound so weird- I’m asking her if anyone else lives here since no one else is around at the moment!”

“They're all at the king's party, including my mother and my siblings!” The mymble's daughter replied joyfully “I can bring you both there if you want!”

“No thank you. We have more important things to deal with currently... but may I ask what’s the party for?”

“It’s the king's 100th birthday! It’s very special, that’s why every ones there! Also, what’s more important than a big royal party?” replied the mymble's daughter

“I don’t think I should explain, sorry.“ said Moomin “But your mother really shouldn’t have left you alone like this-“ he added

“Well, young mymbles tend to be short from what I heard, maybe she’s old enough to be on her own at home and she just doesn’t look it-“ suggested the Joxter.

“Exactly! I’m actually 66!“ Said the mymble's daughter, obviously lying “Anyways, can you two come to the party with me?”

“Well, this might be one of the only times we'll be able to talk to the king about the situation and ask him for permission for a burial, so...” said Moomin to the Joxter

“This is all so complicated and frustrating...” mumbled the Joxter

“Tell me about it...” Moomin replied to Joxter quietly “Where do we go on from here?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious...?” said the Joxter

“Well yes, we have to ask for permission and then find a place to bury Muddler, but we need to find a place first... and get Hodgkin's input aswell...”

“... Maybe you should do that part.” said Joxter

“You mean talking to Hodgkins? But you’ve known him longer!” Retorted the Moomin

“He doesn’t talk to me much and trust me, I think you would do better... I think I need to do some more walking on my own for now.” replied the Joxter

“Are you just going to avoid the situation?”

“As much as I can. Yes.” answered the Joxter before walking off again into nearby wooded area far away from the rest of civilization on this island. He was planning to return later but he might as well walk around and try to clear away as many feelings as he could.

The Moomin paced around planning out what to say and do first to help get this all over with, the mymble's daughter had overheard his conversation with Joxter and skipped over to him.

“you need permission to bury some thing you said?”

“Yes I did, but why are you nosing around in others' conversations?”

“Well I can help you! You can ask the king for permission to bury whatever you want, he's an easy going guy but the hard part of getting to him will be the maze,”

“The what?”

“The maze and the puzzles to get to the garden of course! I can help you get there and through if you want!”

“I suppose it would be interesting to finally meet a real king...but I wouldn’t want to ask him during a party if we could... oh nevermind, I’ll figure it out on my own.” Moomin pondered

“And I won’t have to walk alone! Come on!” Said the mymble's daughter, trying to be convincing. Afterall, she didn’t know the details of what Moomin and Joxter were so wrapped up about, she assumed they were just having a bad day.

“Let me talk to my friend back in his boat first, I need to see what he says before I agree.”

“Oh fine... you adults are no fun-“ she went back to her hut and pouted as she waited for Moomin to get back.

Moomin went back to the ship finally working up the courage to try and console Hodgkins. He knocked on the door to the pilot-house, Moomin stood there for a minute or two before sitting by the door and began to talk through it.

“Hodgkins, sir, I know you're in there- I don’t know where Joxter went but he said he needed some time to walk around, I’m guessing to clear his head... I know you're... probably going through a lot with the current situation and I’m sad about it too of course but we can’t just sit around and let the body stay there... we need to find somewhere to bury him but we might need permission from the local king who runs this place- I ran into a mymble and she told me the king's having his 100th birthday party today and that’s why there’s not many people here right now- i just thought to fill you in on that, I know you don’t like to talk things out or talk much in general but... you get the point, we should go because it might be one of the few chances we can properly talk to him.” The Moomin then went silent for a few moments pressing his ear against the door, he then heard footsteps coming from the inside of the room and hodgkins opened it up and looked down at Moomin.

“Alright...” said Hodgkins before offering Moomin a hand up, he looked tired, and messy, his whiskers were all crooked aswell.

“Hrm...” Hodgkins stood thinking for a moment, he gave a nod 'yes' and walked ahead off the ship “If this is what it takes to get Muddler a proper resting place then fine.”

“There’s just one issue-“ Moomin piped

“And what would that be?” replied Hodgkins rather coldly

“There’s an entire maze we have to go through to get to the castle, so if we want to go through we will have to take the mymble girl with us to solve the puzzles.”

Hodgkins took a deep annoyed sigh and gave another simple nod in understanding. They went to tell the mymble's daughter they were ready to go and the three of them went on their way.

The mymble's daughter was excited and happy about the maze, there were painted eggs for them to find along the way, Moomin and the mymble's daughter stopped a few times to pick up the eggs. Moomin was trying to keep the mood light and maybe even cheer up Hodgkins a tiny bit trying to get his mind off of mourning.

“Come on Hodgkins, have some fun! You should grab that egg up there! Neither of us can reach it!” suggested the Moomin. Hodgkins grabbed it and held it between his pointer finger and thumb.

“That’s the spirit!” said the mymble's daughter, then Hodgkins stared at them and crushed the egg and tossed it to the ground.

Moomin's ears went down and so did his tail “Got it- let’s just rush through the maze then-“ he looked down and continued to pick up the pace.

The mymble's daughter was disappointed “what a buzz kill!” She retorted but Hodgkins didn’t reply and just continued. Eventually they ran into a bunch of pranks mostly involving fake mechanical spiders and things of that sort.

Hodgkins. Was not. Having it.

He crushed one of the fake spiders in anger “All of this just to ask for permission to bury my darn NEPHEW!”

The mymble's daughter fearfully walked ahead without them because of Hodgkin's clearly boiling anger and they where almost out of the maze anyway. They continued past a few more pranks and got through to their end goal: the King's birthday party.

As they entered moomin took in his surroundings seeing tables of food and a carousel and and happy cheerful faces and a very large old man sitting on a thrown with a crown he was amazed to be in the same room as royalty but hodgkins on the other hand was less then thrilled he got straight to the point and walked over to the king with a serious expression “excuse me your kingship I’m apologize for asking you this on your momentous 100th birthday but may I have your permission to bury my nephew on your Island.”

The King looked down at Hodgkins, lifted an eye brow then chuckled out loud thinking it was some sort of dark joke “Oh ho! Aren't you a strange one! Go ahead bury him where ever you want! Better yet, bury him in front of my castle! Hopefully he’ll come and haunt me!”

Hodgkins sighed, annoyed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not a joke your highness. May I bury him on your island? Simple yes or no.”

The King's expression quickly, faded his eyebrows lifted in surprise his smile turned into to an awkward frown “Ho- oh my... uhm... of course- bury him where you would... like- uhm...” he cleared his throat because never in all of his 100 years of life had someone ever asked him such a blunt question especially one of this matter. Hodgkins then ended the conversation with a quick “Thank you.” And left.

He got the answer he needed.

Joxter had spent his afternoon scouting out the area, and along his walk he found a peaceful clearing right before the forest started but far away enough from houses and homes for it to be a proper resting place. He put some stuck some sticks out of the ground to mark the area and remember it before going back to the boat just to find he was the only one there at the moment. He decided to go to the pilot-house and rest on the couch in there until Moomin and Hodgkins returned from where ever they were.

(Sorry if it’s a bit messy I had technical difficulties while typing ✨because my phone hates meeees✨/slight joking)

End of chapter two. Illustrations being added soon-

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.

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!)

POV: tumblr has a new timeline where wimsy became a tumblr sexy man and I made fan art of him*

“ gosh I absolutely love my misunderstood hot man- I hate smoking but I would happily give my lungs for him 💗👉👈✨any ways hope you guys like my fan art!”

*end of joke POV)

Hey Moomblr?

So in conclusion:

Just a hilarious thought, if anyone wants to add ideas or make additions to the post and pretend there's like, an alternate timeline where the little guy is a Tumblr sexyman like Joxter, I would love that. It's all in good fun tho.

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!)

This is art specifically made for my alternate moomins au! (The DM!au specifically!)

Here’s an image of what joxter and fuzzy would look like later in the au around the same time comet in moominland would have taken place!

It took me a while to figure out the outfits for them but I think there fitting! (Fuzzy would have made the clothes for both herself and for joxter! Joxter has the bright primary colors because they look good on him and well he acts silly and playful all the time at least in fuzzys eyes so she thought it would be fitting and fuzzy herself prefers more calm muted colors for her outfits because it helps balance every thing out! (The “scarf” she’s wearing is actually a racoON(or a moomins universe creature close enough to a racoON) pelt, (Joxter got/made the most pelt for her himself.)

Hey random sneak peek for chapter 7 of the DM!memoirs au context? Hahah nOPe- ✨

Update! Finished! If you want the context behind the drawing I suggest you check out my fanfic (also posted on my tumblr!) this is a drawing made specifically for chapter 7 of the dead muddler au!

AYO NEW CHAPTER TIME (trigger free)

Chapter 7 of the DM!memoirs au, (thanks to @flowerbloom-arts for helping me edit this chapter and all the other ones before!! Please go check her and her art out!!))

Joxter and Fuzzy were enjoying dinner together in sweet silence, just the feeling of enjoying each other's company. At least that’s how Fuzzy felt. Meanwhile Joxter's mind was plagued by a million 'what if’s, after a bit it was apparent to Fuzzy that Joxter seemed a bit off and was picking at his food rather than eating it. Fuzzy looked over at him and finally broke the silence “I’m sorry, I know I’m no good at cooking.” she said, assuming that Joxter was picking at his food because he didn’t like it that much.

“Hm? Oh no, it’s great, Fuzzy, really! Just- I’ve been thinking alot about something.“ he said and rushed trying to brush it off like nothing was wrong as he took a few bites of the fish on his plate, chewing rather loudly trying to drown out his own thoughts.

“Well what's been on your mind…?” asked the Fuzzy curiously, also wanting to stop hearing the loud and slightly rude chewing.

“Oh uhm…” he swallowed his food before thinking of a lame excuse he could use, he tapped his fork on the edge of his plate as he thought and Fuzzy's ears went down, not really a big fan of the clanking noise.

“Joxter-?“ she said as she gently put a paw on his arm, Joxter froze up and looked up at her.

“Yes…?”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry but- pardon me, but could you please stop tapping the fork? It makes such an upsetting ringing noise I’m not a fan of…“ she said shyly.

“Oh! The fork, right, sorry, my bad-“

“No no, it’s alright, it’s just a not too pleasant sound to hear, at least for my sensitive ears- but what’s been on your mind? You can tell me, I assure you.”

“It’s alright I was uhm…” then the perfect excuse struck him, “I was just wondering if I could see what’s in your basket of things…?”

“You really want to see my collection…?”

“Well- I mean if you're ok with it. If not I understand, I suppose!“

Fuzzy smiled and put her paws to her cheeks “Nobody sincerely wanted to see my collection before! Hold on a moment!” She skipped over to the tin and grabbed her basket and went back to where they were sitting. “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Replied Joxter with a smile.

Fuzzy opened her basket and started taking things out, handkerchief or two, both with her initials on them. Then some buttons and shiny little rocks, a shiny shell from the beach, a few fake glass crystals as well in an array of colors, there was some jewelry in there as well, she wasn’t sure if they were real or fake of course but most of the jewelry was busted or broken some way since she did find most of it in the trash or in lost and found bins from places here and there. But there was one necklace it was a blue sapphire pendant that was in the shape of a teardrop, it was beautiful, she loved it but she also hated it because she stole that one from a lovely lady while making dress alterations for her back when she worked at her parent's shop, not to mention there where a few other random little things such as scraps of fabric, some sewing supplies and of course buttons she took from the shop as well. A blanket she had completely forgotten about, some dried preserved flowers in a small glass jam jar along with some other things she jammed in there, some fascinating bird feathers and lastly the button Joxter gave to her on their first meeting. The one that was shiney and looked like a tiger's eye gem! All her knick knacks and oddities she happily explained where she found them and such, but she didn’t explain how she got them.

“Wow, quite a bit, eh?”

“Indeed- but I must admit I’m a bit ashamed…”

“Why’s that Fuz?”

Fuzzy looked down guiltily at some of the items “Well, some of these I snatched myself. Stolen rather! And no lady should ever steal its unlady-like and icky!”

“Oh! Well that’s not a bad thing per se! And I’ve stolen before! Do you think I’m icky?”

“Well no! But it’s- it’s not! It’s unlady-like and awful of me! I’m so gross that I've dug around rubbish for my other things and swiped a lot of them! What sort of person am I? Oh, no man will ever love me like this!” Said the Fuzzy, spiraling into guilt and covering her eyes with her paws.

“Fuzzy! There, there! It’s ok! Calm down, and really, there's no difference between a man stealing or a lady stealing and remember what I told you before? Most people are more fortunate than others and it seems like no one is missing these things! Otherwise there would be missing flyers for these missing things everywhere, but there aren't, which means they would have ended up lost or in a dump somewhere if you didn’t take them in a way…?” He said cheerily as he tried to spin it into something more optimistic to make her feel better. “But… no one could love a thief could they…?”

“I don’t think that’s true, you're lovely if you ask me and any one would be lucky to have you as their partner! So what if you take from people from time to time? It’s in the nature of some creatures.”

“You… really think so…?”

“Well yes! I have no reason to lie about it! You are a rather great thief and I find that to be a good thing! Perhaps admiring in a way?”

“Oh don’t say that!”

“But I mean it! You’ve even stolen a heart without realizing it!”

“A heart?” said Fuzzy, puzzled. As she realized what that meant her face turned red.

“I mean- I can only, uh- a-assume! I mean look at you-!“ replied Joxter, sort of panicked by his own words and Fuzzy's uncertain reaction.

Fuzzy held her paw to her cheek and smiled a little bit “Thank you Jox, it means a lot to me hearing that…” and so she felt all bubbly after he said this, it gave her a sense of hope but it also made her sad when getting Joxter's 'clarification', she simply wished he meant she had his heart, she simply hoped that one day he would feel the same for her as she felt for him, but little did she know he already felt the same, they were Just two awkward souls not ready and not sure how to share feelings like these. Joxter went back to eating and changed the subject.

“Anyway, you really did good with cooking the fish, though it could use some seasoning- maybe we can get some in town tomorrow?”

“Seasonings? Oh yes that would make it better! Though we still don’t have any money, Joxter...“

“Oh right well… hm… oh! I know I have a friend who might need some tailoring work done, you sew well and such right? I bet she’d pay us a bit to help out, possibly?”

“Oh? A friend…? What’s her name?”

“Her name's Mymble and she lives on the outskirts with her children. She's really jolly and quite a remarkable woman!” Joxter said happily.

“Oh I see- are you close with her?”

“I uhm… well yes you could say that, it’s a bit complicated though.“

“O-oh I see... Well, I'd be happy to meet her tomorrow if it means having some sort of pay!”

Joxter smiled “That’s the spirit! Though you do look worried... Don’t worry! She doesn’t bite! Some of her kids though...“ he joked around.

Fuzzy tried to smile a bit but suddenly felt saddened and put her food down, only half eaten “I see- uhm, pardon me but I think I’ll go to bed now if that’s alright with you long day tomorrow after all!“

“Oh? Uhm- alright, good night then, Fuzzy!” He tried to act casual but he could tell he messed up some way or another.

“Good night Joxter…“ she said in a quiet sigh before going into the can and curling up on her pile of blankets and pillows and other soft things, her mind swarming with thoughts and questions.

“What does he mean by complicated…? Are they dating…? Does he… love her? He must if he said it’s complicated- oh but he said she has children! So she must be married, that's why it’s complicated! Oh goodness he could never love me if he has her in mind could he? And that’s where this dress I’m wearing now came from isn’t it? She’s such a big lady- she must be strong and intimidating, probably more beautiful… goodness I could never compete!” She was overwhelmed by her own thoughts and tried to sleep it off to prepare herself for tomorrow.

Meanwhile Joxter took his and Fuzzy's wet clothes from before and shook them a bit before hanging them up on a nearby tree branch to dry for the next day, he wondered if he was going about all of this wrong. He knew he was going about all of this wrong but how else was he supposed to do it! It’s so hard to read such a shy person's emotions after all! Joxter needed some space to think, he needed something familiar, something that wasn’t Mymble or Fuzzy though something familiar that wouldn’t judge him like Moomin or Hodgkins, he needed silence but a sense of company, so he went to the very last place he thought he would go. First he went into the can and grabbed a familiar saucepan making a clanging noise as he did that alerted Fuzzy.

“Joxter is that you…?” She mumbled tiredly

“Sorry Fuz, I’m just grabbing some things, there’s something I have to do but I’ll be back later, I promise.“ he said as he lit a lantern

“O-oh…? Ok then…“ she was confused but watched Joxter leave the can with saucepan in hand, curiosity got to her as she waited a few moments for him to walk away from the can before following him from a distance. It was a good thing he had the lantern with him otherwise fuzzy would have gotten lost from him herself. She watched as he picked flowers and put them in the saucepan and in the hole on the handle as well. She wondered “Are these for the mymble lady he was talking about before…? Could these be for me…? No, not a chance- why is he out so late? I mean he isn’t an early bird so…” she thought more and more until…

She saw him get to a clearing near the outskirts of the forest, he walked far to a big rock and sat next to it leaning his head on it, putting the saucepan down in front of the rock.

“Sorry I haven’t visited in a while, Muds…”

Fuzzy heard him talking but couldn’t hear what he was saying too clearly so she crept closer quietly.

“I brought you your old saucepan at least. I mean- not like you can wear it in the state you're in… and well I brought flowers too. I would have made it into a flower crown but you know how it is you were always better at those things then I was.” He then gently set the lantern next to the stone and when Fuzzy looked closer she noticed there were candles and a few other things at the rock including some buttons and then she realized what this was, she realized she was intruding on someone visiting a grave. She felt awful after realizing.

“Things are so… complicated recently! And you're the only one I can turn to-! I know right now you would tell me that I can always turn to Hodgkins but it’s harder than it seems and I’m just so stuck… you’d want me to move on and be happy I know, but I need a sign that things will be ok! How am I supposed to… to even tell someone I love them…? I’m pathetic! I waited for you to tell me how you felt but I know that if I wait with her it won’t work. Even if she has feelings for me she’s too shy to ever tell me!“

Fuzzy got caught up on what he said “shy…? Is he talking about me…?” She felt worried so she listened a bit more trying to figure out who and what he was talking about.

“How can I tell her I love her… should… I even tell her…should I just settle for Mymble? I mean not that Mymble is settling, after all I love her too… am I just selfish?”

“So he is in love-“ thought the Fuzzy, still stuck on 'who' he's in love with, she thought for a bit longer and figured out a bit of it “So he’s having trouble picking between Mymble and some other lady… is there a possibility he was talking about me…? Golly… wait no no what’s wrong with me! I followed him and intruded on his privacy! I'm awful!” She spiraled into her own thoughts a bit as she watched Joxter lay down on the ground next to the grave.

“Mind if I spend the night here with you? Hah- I didn’t think so… thanks Muddler.” said the joxter then putting his hat over his face so as not to be disturbed.

Fuzzy looked saddened by all of this, mostly worried for Joxter and how he was feeling. She quietly went over and took a stick and poked it into the fire of the lantern to catch fire so she could hopefully re-light the candles that were at the grave site. It worked and then she took the lantern with her to guide her through the scary darkness of the night, she was so terrified with every sudden noise, she was practically tripping on her tail as she scuttled back to the tin!

When she got there she jumped back into the tin and sighed in relief before grabbing her basket and taking the blanket out of it, wrapping it around herself for some comfort, shivering with fear from the long scary walk she had just taken. Her mind quickly wandered back to Joxter, sleeping out there alone in the dark next to a grave, probably cold since there’s no blanket around him, and since he had no pillow or anything either! How was she to leave him there?! She already felt guilty for eavesdropping. She felt more guilt well up in her chest and she knew what she had to do, or rather what she had to force herself to do for him “Do it for him. Grow a spine and stop being scared for once, Fuzzy!” She said to herself trying to hype herself up a bit “You love him so you should do this! He would probably do the same for you!” She then emptied out her basket onto the floor of the tin, she re-packed it with the blanket that she had, a pillow from the tin, some of Muddler's buttons that she decided would be a good idea to leave at the grave, a few matches from Joxter's side of the tin so she could re-light the lantern if needed and she took two more things, a bird feather that was part of her own collection and a shiny glass gem that was blue and part of her collection, deciding she wanted to leave something of her own at the grave in return for the button she took.

She took a deep breath as she picked up her basket and the lantern and made her trek back to the grave, shaking and jumping at every slight noise. When she got there she saw Joxter was still asleep and snoring soundly, she quietly sat next to him and put the blanket over him, she was debating if he should lift his head to put the pillow under it or if that would wake him, so she simply put the pillow next to him and he ended up grabbing and hugging the pillow instead, he mumbled something under his breath while he slept.

Fuzzy quietly and cautiously placed some of the Muddler's old buttons back in order on the ground in front of the makeshift grave stone; she even organized them by color and size while there, occupying a bit of her time. Her lantern then went out from a gust of wind and she re-lit it quickly with a match but when she did that there was a figure sitting next to Joxter, it was a friendly looking creature, one that Fuzzy had never seen before, and for once she wasn't… frightened? Usually when someone appears out of nowhere it would scare or frighten anyone, especially Fuzzy who was prone to fright! But she wasn’t scared. Which was a surprise, the figure had such a friendly soft glow to him, Fuzzy looked over and saw the figure was just staring at Joxter with a paw over him as if to comfort him while he slept. Fuzzy then asked quietly in a whisper.

“Who… are you?”

The creature looked up with wide eyes and blinked, looking surprised and then shy.

“Sorry, I’m uhm… I'm a friend, let’s just say that.” He had such a soft smile and pupils shaped like U’s, he seemed almost like an illusion.

“Are- are you a friend of Joxter's…?” Asked the fuzzy

The creature nodded yes "And you're fuzzy right?” he asked back

“Yes I am- excuse me but… how did you know that-?“

“Well Joxter told me of course.“ he closed his eyes for a few moments and Fuzzy took a moment to look at him a bit more to notice details about him, he had whiskers and dog-like ears that covered the side of his face, he was hunched over with terrible posture, he wore a long sleeve shirt and a vest of some sort over it along with tattered oversized pants with patches on it that was being held up by a belt, and lastly he had gloves on his feet like they were socks or shoes.

“You did a lovely job organizing the buttons, I wouldn’t have done it any differently myself!” Said the figure as he smiled and leaned over looking at the buttons “It’s nice that someone brought these over here.”

“Really…? Do you think Joxter's friend Muddler would think the same?”

“Of course.” replied the figure looking down at Joxter with a melancholy look “Miss Fuzzy, I don’t have much time to say this but Joxter really took a liking to you.”

“W-wait, really?” Replied the fuzzy.

“Oh please do trust me on this one… I know we just met and I’m afraid this is the last time we will meet but he does think very fondly of you.”

“Fondly…? Does that mean he loves me?”

“Well I won’t go into detail because it's up to him and you to figure that out for yourselves of course.“ replied the friendly figure seeming to become more foggy by the second, fuzzy assumed it was because she was tired so she squinted a bit.

“Excuse me, but what does that mean?” She asked

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give too much information. Let me just say he’s loyal to the people he cares about. If you're there for him he will always be there for you so please stick by him alright?”

“I don’t plan on leaving his side unless he pushes me away- but please I just want a clear answer!”

“I’m sorry- just tell him…”

“Tell him what? I don’t know what you mean!”

“Tell him I said go for it.” The figure then moved over closer to Fuzzy and hugged her out of the blue, she wasn’t sure what to do so she closed her eyes and before she knew it, the figure simply vanished and the words that were carved into the rock seemed to glow. Fuzzy felt her heart skip a beat so strangely as she looked over to the stone and read the name on it, suddenly connecting the pieces still in disbelief. She knew she wasn’t in danger. She knew not to be scared at least of what just happened, rather she was just baffled and felt tired and serene.

“Thank you, mr. Muddler...“ she mumbled before placing a feather and the glass gem on to the top of the grave stone, she then looked over to Joxter and decided to fall asleep there with him because it felt safer than making the walk all the way back to the tin and because the words rang in her head to stick by his side. She fell asleep and in the morning woke up close to Joxter under the same blanket practically being spooned by him, Fuzzy froze up at this realization and quickly rolled away not to make things awkward just in case joxter was to wake up.

She sat up and thought back to last night, wondering if it was a dream or if it was reality, or even if it weren't a dream she had of seeing a ghost of some sort. Even if it was a figment of her worried mind it still felt… better. She felt like she had an idea of what was going on, of how things were going to be, that she had a chance with Joxter, she felt as long as she followed her heart for this she would be alright she then looked over to Joxter and lightly tapped his shoulder to wake him.

“Jox wake up-“ she said softly.

“Hmmmmm?” the Joxter hummed, slowly waking up first rubbing his eyes to wake up. When he opened his eyes he saw Fuzzy and looked confused then he stretched and grabbed his hat, putting it on “Fuzzy…? Oh uhm... Good morning…? Wait, I fell asleep here?” He said as he noticed he was asleep next to the grave “Wait, how’d you know I was here?” He said rather confused

“Oh well… I-I’m sorry but I followed you last night because I was worried about you and where you were going so late…” she seemed nervous as she said it as though she was expecting him to be angry.

Joxter then looked at the blanket covering him and how the things that were left at the grave were nicely organized “Fuzzy, I’m not mad, it's alright…” Joxter said calmly before looking over to her

“You're not…?”

“No, it was nice of you to bring me a blanket and you even organized the stuff here, honestly you organized those buttons just like Muddler would have.” He said in a sort of melancholy tone “But next time you want to follow me somewhere just ask alright? It wasn’t very nice of you to spy on me!“ he poked her nose “Though it was rather brave of you to follow me at night so I’m proud of you for that.“ he said with a smirk.

Fuzzy blushed and looked away “thank you- oh wait! Before I forget, something strange happened last night.”

“Something strange? What might that be?” Replied the Joxter, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not sure if it was a dream… or if it was reality but, well, I know you’ll think I’m crazy after I say it but… I think I saw Muddler last night?”

Joxter furrowed his brow and tried to laugh it off “But you’ve never met him before when he was alive! You don’t even know what he looks like-“

“I know! It sounds insane but…'' Fuzzy went silent for a moment then mumbled “Well it just- it must have been a dream based on what you said to me about him- but he seemed kind and wanted me to tell you 'just go for it'. Even if it was just a dream I feel like you needed to hear that part for some reason? Like you have the right to know about it…?” She said shyly

Joxter looked puzzled and looked at the grave stone, "Just go for it, huh…?” He gently gave it a pat before getting up.

“‘It must have been a strange dream, but… thanks for telling me Fuz. Do you Want to head home now?“

“N-no problem- but sure let’s head home, I’m meeting your friend Mymble today, right? I still need to put on my normal dress, it should be dry by now I hope, I would look rather silly walking around in such a big dress as that.”

“I think you look rather cute in it, makes you look tiny!“ Joxter teased.

“Oh hush! I’m not that tiny!” She stuck her tongue out at him in playful retaliation

“Wow I’ve rubbed off on you quite a bit huh! Never thought I’d see you sticking up for yourself like this.” He said lightheartedly

“Well- maybe I could say the same about you, you're definitely different from the first time we met.”

“You think?”

“Certainly! You're much kinder and even a bit more polite, rather nice.”

“Oh, calling me a softy, I see?”

“Possibly- not that it’s a bad thing though.”

Joxter picked a flower while they walked back to the can. It was a yellow one and he put it behind Fuzzy's ear. She was a bit surprised by this and blushed.

“What did you do that for…?” Asked the Fuzzy as she took the flower out from behind her ear to look at it.

“Well I was wondering how you’d look with a flower behind your ear so I wanted to see.“

“Well…how do I look?” She said as she put it back behind her ear.

“Well, I was right you look lovely with a flower behind your ear.“

“Lovely…?” Squeaked the fuzzy surprised “Oh you're a flirt, what’s gotten into you?“ she mumbled thinking this was just one of Joxter's jokes

“I’m just being honest you look nice.“ he put his paws in his pockets and walked on ahead silently.

Fuzzy was so… confused with this situation and caught up with Joxter.

“I’m sorry if I… came off as defensive…? I just- I’m not used to getting compliments-“

“It’s alright, I was just being silly.“

“No no it honestly made me happy I just wasn’t sure how to react- and I was wondering… you know how you said things with mymble are complicated…?“

“... guessing you want details of what I mean by that.“

“Pardon me but- I mean only if you're comfortable of course!”

“I was planning on telling you eventually but I’m sort of in love with her…? And well another person at once you see, Mymble isn't really that traditional of a person, she is happy and fine with having multiple partners.“

“Multiple partners…?” Said the puzzled Fuzzy

“Well yes, she falls in love with more than one person and has relationships with them, sadly those don’t last long for her but she’s still so jolly, it's also the reason she has so many kids.“

“Oh my- I see,” mumbled Fuzzy.

“I mean, I think I want something like that to…“

“...like what?” asked Fuzzy, not getting it right away.

“A relationship like that- with more than one partner.“

“It seems complicated doesn't it?”

“I mean it sure does but it doesn’t stop how I feel, I can’t just pick one over the other because those feelings I have for the other will still stay and last.“

“May I ask who the other one is…?”

“Does the other person I have feelings for, you mean…?” Said the joxter looking down at his boots as he walked, looking anxious for once.

“If you don’t want to it’s alright-“

“I think I’ll wait a bit before I disclose that, after all I don’t think she would be ok with this sort of thing, then again I can’t assume.”

“Well, if you were going to go about this sort of thing how would you go about it…? You know, splitting your time…?"

“Oh well… I’m not sure, I don’t even have a set plan in life let alone a plan for relationships. It's stressful.”

“I see…well I feel like you should first confess your feelings to the other person so you, Mymble and the other person can all discuss these things together. that’s if the person likes you back…? Sorry if I pushed too much- but uhm… pardon me but I’m still very curious as to who it is you like…“

Joxter smirked and looked her in the eyes “oh you’ll know soon enough so let’s just leave it at that.”

And so they did. (For now)

AND IVE ALREADY MADE FAN ART ✨ people reaD this fanfic it’s so good I just love that daily dose of angst ✨

Omnishambles

chapter 1

In which I, the Muddler, have become an invisible leech on my fellow crewmen, the Moomin tries to ignore the situation, my Joxter tries to salvage my visibility in any way he can, my uncle falls into a great sadness, and then I go to sleep.

-

Prologue

[Features the whole Oshun Oxtra. Full of angst. 3.5 k words long. Some Juddler (Joxter x Muddler) cuz I can't help myself.]

🥀

I sat there as my uncle explained to the others what had happened to me in an emotion I don't remember seeing him express before. He was normally so stoic, what happened…? I looked at the ground and only then noticed my legs weren't where they're meant to be.

Where was I? Was I… gone? As I tried to look for myself, my uncle finally explained that I seemed to have turned invisible.

Oh. So that's what this is.

I'm just invisible. Not gone – but not a ghost, either; they just can't see me under my still visible burnt saucepan. I didn't know how to feel about it. I was still trying to process what had happened, how my tin was gone. Just… Gone.

I still couldn't believe that.

I had that old thing for as long as I can remember… which, admittedly, isn't that much since I can't seem to remember much of my adolescence but, still, I'm pretty sure I've had that thing for a very long time, not to mention everything that was inside it: My penwipes, pipe cleaners, cookware, cutlery, gears, tools, pencils, clothes, jewelry… buttons… My poor buttons especially… Every one of those I've collected myself; some were gifts from my Joxter, yes, but I went to riverbanks and dumps – and you don't want to know where else – to get everything. I had to spend time walking, searching, and finding them, I had to take so many baths to clean off those horrible smells off my wretched self. All of that just to satisfy some unreasonable desire I can't even begin to describe.

And now, everything that I've gained from it is nothing but debris in the middle of nowhere, lost to rust, engulfed by the great unknowns of the abyss below our boat.

Now, I was worthless. At least, I felt so.

Hodgkins searched for my arm and lifted me up so I could stand, confirming that yes, I was there, just not able to be seen.

I looked at him as he gave me – or I suppose the ground or saucepan – the most disquieted look I've ever seen on that old blue face of his.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently.

I nodded, but all they could see was a pot tilting up and down. I looked at the others for the first time in this state.

Moomin tried to keep a serious expression but his eyes had a deep horror within them, and Joxter had such an expression of heartbreak that I desperately wished I could've mustered up an apology for him, but I'm completely voiceless as it turns out. I looked down and noticed the Nibling – I think he didn't know what to think, really, he was speechless with confusion, as we haven't known each other for long and had little to no bond.

Hodgkins' paw drifted down from above my elbow to my own paw and said "Let's take you to the pilot-house," as he guided me there.

I looked back at the crew one last time and then quickly turned back around before the guilt took hold of me. Despite this, it still eventually enveloped my heart knowing they held the same expressions as they watched us leave.

I sat down on the couch of the pilot-house and my uncle went to the chest to search for something. I looked at him and wondered why he's still bothering with doing anything to help me, still bothering to care at all. He only cares about important matters, he was always a practical man that I admired deeply, he was too big to care about little things. So why would he care about me if I wasn't at least useful? Now I'm just useless, why am I worth his time anymore?

He came up to me with a blue ribbon and snapped it in half with his claw. He kneeled before me and asked to place my paw on his, when I did so he tied the ribbon around my palm and tied it like a bracelet, he did the same to my other paw. This was so they can see where my paws are, probably so I wouldn't mess up without their foresight…

My uncle looked down at the ribbons silently and I could tell words were being discarded in his head for what he should say now, some part of him was also considering not saying anything at all, but finally he came up with a forlorn "I'm sorry…" in a tone I only heard when he rarely spoke of his past "I am so sorry…" he continued slowly "I… I shouldn't have let this… that… happen," he looked up at my pan and I noticed the mist in his eyes, this was so unlike him, I couldn't possibly muster a word if I was able to. He sighed heavily and asked guiltily; "Am I at fault?"

I shook my head decidedly, of course it's not his fault, what happened wasn't remotely controlled by him, why would he even ask this?

Hodgkins nodded sadly and patted my arm twice. He got up and moved his arm across his face, checked for tears and rubbed that part of his arm while he looked out the window. The rest of the crew was already gone by now, so he looked upward at the horizon and held onto the steering wheel.

"We'll find land," he muttered to himself and made a few things on the control panel click "We have to," he added "We have to…" he repeated more quietly and desperately.

I looked down at the floating ribbon hoops and felt sorry that this didn't go as I had hoped – I hoped that I could actually disappear, quickly and painlessly, but now I had somehow become more of an inconvenience and a reminder of things they think they've done wrong. I even made my own uncle cry, what person does that? Why is it so difficult to do anything right? I couldn't even stop being a nuisance right – at most they got to stop looking at my miserable face, but what good is that if they still had to worry about me over everything? My mind echoed apologies and I didn't have the voice to let it escape, I couldn't say sorry as I always did a million times a day, it was suffocating.

How was it that I felt more suffocated in open air than a cramped and crowded tin of metal and wood and plastic? Why did I have to be this pathetic and upsetting? Why was I like this? What was I like before? Did it matter what the answer was?

I was a wretched little thing – or rather, a wretched thing that wanted to be little. A disgusting wretched thing, really. I couldn't… I couldn't be any better if I tried. This isn't any better. Worse than I imagined, in fact.

My imagination really was rubbish.

Why must it be so difficult to not be myself for once? Why did I have to paint my tin when just the boat sufficed? I didn't even write its name properly, of course I didn't, my uncle was sparing my feelings – it was supposed to be Ocean Orchestra, not Oshun Oxtra, only an illiterate fool would call this work of craftsmanship an 'Oshun Oxtra', I didn't know at the time… if I wasn't so sensitive Hodgkins would've corrected me and I wouldn't have made this boat so laughable like myself. I was… he… he cares so much for nothing, doesn't he.

Gosh. What a mistake that must be…

I tried to curl up into a ball to muffle my own thoughts somehow and the sliding sound of my invisible paw against my saucepan alerted my uncle, he knew what I was trying to do just by the position of my paws and my headgear. I was upset, and I was trying to stop being upset, so he left the steering wheel and came over to help.

Silent as he is, he moved my paw aside and I looked at him. He wouldn't know from looking but I was on the brink of crying like a small child, but as we'd learned our song and dance from doing it over and over, he could sense it. His ears lowered and he sat next to me, being careful not to step or sit on any part of me. He crossed his arms and leaned on his legs while having some difficulty thinking of what to do or say again.

It really must be hard for a man like him to walk in a room full of eggshells that made nonsensical noises…

Out of an inability to do anything else, I slowly and hesitantly hugged his arm and back, hoping it'll make up for the lack of apology. He really seemed to need one, to me atleast, apologies were the only thing I had to offer him. My slow breathing turned into sniffles as I choked back tears thinking about how awfully insufficient or ill fitting this must be for him, and finally I cracked and started crying on his shoulder – goodness gracious, he was literally my shoulder to cry on.

Hodgkins noticed this and held my arm with a paw. "Hey hey it's alright, I'm fine, you're fine, sorry for not saying anything, I really should learn how to," he told me and rubbed his thumb on my arm "Please don't cry… I didn't mean…" his voice hollowed out and he left himself in silence.

I continued weeping and held a tighter grip on him, hoping this painful feeling could go away if I did. Hodgkins' paw moved to my back and he twisted his position so he could hug me properly.

I felt my eyes widen and then looked down, this was the first time in a while he hugged me, I was too afraid to be touched since the Booble incident. Tears welled up and I buried and rubbed my head against his chest, making the saucepan slide off. It tumbled down and hit the ground with a large bang which made both of us flinch.

The sound rang in my ears. I had ruined it, I ruined this hug and now Hodgkins will have to pick it up for me. Why did it have to be ruined? Why did I have to ruin this moment? Why…

Hodgkins didn't seem to care, he only pulled me in closer and held my head "It's fine," he muttered and continued in silence.

I felt a strange mix of emotions, but above them… I just… I really did miss being hugged by him and feeling the world melt away.

…

Is it too selfish to wish this could last longer than it should?

I wanted to be able to ask him if we could stay like this all day… but at the same time I didn't.

I didn't want him to do something he didn't want to do because he pitied me. Then again he probably did most things out of pity for me. Yet this is probably a stressful time for him, having an invisible nephew on his boat, pretty sure I'm the last member of his family that could be here with him… that's really not the best luck to have, is it?

I wanted to let go, but I didn't, but I did. It was just too nice of a hug to break out of, and I was too scared I'd hurt his feelings if I did, but also he could possibly be wishing we'd stop already. Hodgkins had a job to be the ship's captain and I was keeping him away from it. He probably really wants to check if his boat is in good condition after that horrendous storm, it should be his first priority, not me, anything but me.

Why should I be?

…

The comfortable silence was broken by Moomin's yelling below deck; "Do you really think any of this is going to work!?"

He sounded frustrated. Hodgkins and I looked at the floor and my immediate reaction was to go down and try to defuse the situation or help with what's going on, and so it also was Hodgkins' reaction awell, apparently.

He put an arm up against me as if to say I should stay here, but of course I didn't, it probably had something to do with my Joxter, after all! And he and Moomin didn't get along very well, they could get into a fight! I picked up my fallen saucepan, put it on and silently followed Hodgkins from behind to see what's going on down there.

"Muddler should be fine! He's just not visible!" I heard Moomin cry from below deck "I don't think it's worth searching for lost junk like a madman!"

We passed the Nibling looking down worriedly at the entrance (he wasn't allowed in there especially after the night he stowed away and made literally everything all sticky) and went down the stairs. Hodgkins stopped to look at the situation and I peeped behind him, holding his back. He felt my grip and looked at my saucepan but didn't say anything, both of us looked back at the scene between Moomin and Joxter.

"That's because you didn't give a jonk's whisker about him in the first place! Muddler's my friend! You're just a tag-along Hodgkins met right before we got launched into this mess of an adventure!" Joxter replied and went back to searching for something in a drawer. Moomin was holding a slightly wet fishing net and had the most offended look I've ever seen on his face.

"Tag-along!? I've worked to be a valuable member of this crew while you lazed about doing nothing but smoke and eat and sleep! If anything, you're the tag-along here!" Moomin accused. Joxter scoffed and didn't reply, only continuing to search in the drawer. Moomin was getting even angrier "Did you not hear me!?"

"Not sure about Joxter. But we heard from above deck," Hodgkins said.

Moomin's ears shot up. He dropped the fishnet and turned around to look up at my uncle and gestured toward my Joxter "Hodgkins!! Thank goodness you're here! Could you please knock some sense into this creature! He tried to recover Muddler's junk with your fishing net and that obviously didn't work, now he's trying to scrounge up anything he can to give it to Muddler, thinking it'll fix him somehow!"

He's doing that for me…? He rarely gets out of his way to do anything, and he's searching for things… for me?

"First; pick up the net," Hodgkins commanded calmly.

Moomin froze and bent down to do so "Ah, right, sorry-"

"Second; Joxter is doing what he can for what he cares about. Don't dare discourage it," Hodgkins said sternly.

"Thank you!" Joxter exclaimed exasperatedly, still looking through the drawer, he gave up and closed it in favour of the one under it. Moomin growled, irritated at this, and folded up the fishnet.

"Well if he's being 'useful', what are we meant to do?" Moomin asked.

"We… should check for damages. That storm was harsh," Hodgkins suggested and put his arm behind to pat my back, he looked down at my saucepan and asked "Do you want to stay with Joxter?"

I nodded. I felt like I needed to stay with him if he's putting in so much effort just to help me, but I still held a tight grip on Hodgkins' jacket.

Hodgkins' eyebrows and ears lowered and he lightly pushed me forward toward Joxter "It'll be fine. You're the only person he never bites."

I looked at him and slowly turned my head to look at Joxter, he seemed to be trying to analyze my saucepan and ribbons for the context of where I am. I shrank back at his gaze, yet I stepped forward shyly and held my paws together. He sat on the floor and watched me approach him slowly, he patted the ground silently, signaling that I should sit down with him. I kneeled on the wooden floor.

Hodgkins, upon seeing this interaction, felt sure enough to ascend up the stairs. Moomin followed behind, shooting us a quick glare before disappearing up himself.

I stared silent at the closed entrance. I heard rattling next to me and turned to discover it was just Joxter frantically emptying his pockets of everything he had found so far, he seemed almost excited to present them to me.

He picked up a loose cogwheel from the small pile and held it between his pointer and thumb "Look! I know it's not much but I know that the reason you turned invisible is because you lost your tin – or at least that's the thing that pushed you into it – so my thinking is that if we rebuild the collection, perhaps it can make you feel better and you can turn visible again? Maybe it wouldn't help entirely but I'm hoping that it would be enough until you can properly communicate and take the rest from there? Maybe? A whisper at least?" he maundered and offered the cog to me.

I hesitated. It reminded me too much of the time I accidentally almost choked my uncle for breakfast by dropping one in his omelette. I strongly didn't want to be reminded of it, but I didn't want to hurt Joxter's feelings either. I pushed aside my irrational feelings about it and grabbed it anyway. I felt a great lump in my throat as I examined it.

"I knew a chap once who turned invisible," Joxter began, he always knew a 'chap' who did something related to anything, I always wondered where he keeps finding them "It was because he felt very unhappy about his mistreatment and his mother forbidding him to see a good friend was enough to make him wish he could disappear, I don't think I ever saw him after he muttered his story to me like the whistling wind and ran off into a forest,"

He cupped his paws over mine which held the cogwheel "As much as I don't care for worries and do my best to simply live, I want to live with you. I can't bear the thought of never seeing your face again because some storm decided to be especially cruel."

It wasn't some storm.

"I'll try my best to help you as best I can, I'll even take over your duties on this ship if it means you can recollect yourself and have time to recover."

Please, don't force yourself.

"I owe you after every little thing you've done for me,"

No you don't.

"you are wonderful,"

I'm not.

"and I love you."

… I wanted to say 'I love you too' so badly and out of habit. But I also didn't want to. What's wrong with me?

My whole body shook and I knew he felt it as he held my paw, he was extremely puzzled as to what emotion the shaking is conveying.

"Are… are you alright, dear? Do you need to lie down?" He followed the path of my arm up to my shoulder and held it "Goodness, you're shivering! We should get you in the sleeping quarters this instant, you hear?"

I couldn't do anything but agree, I was shaking, I felt a well of awfulness bursting from my stomach, I was tired, afraid, I couldn't handle another terrible thought about how wretched everyone on this boat is, I couldn't handle myself and anyone for that matter, I wanted- no, needed to sleep.

Joxter lifted me up by the paws and guided me to my bed. I sat down on it. I fell sideways on it. I didn't feel the necessity to change my clothes even if I felt disgusting already. I needed my mind to shut up in my unconsciousness and I needed it to do so as soon as possible.

Joxter threw a blanket over me and looked at the inside of my saucepan in an attempt to make eye contact "Do you want me to stay with you?"

No.

I shook my head and waved my hand side to side.

"Alright then… oh, and we can't forget about the saucepan, you're going to wake up with an awful ache if you keep it," Joxter said and slid the pan from my head and placed it on the nearest surface. He looked at the pit on my pillow kindly "Sleep well, Muds."

I nodded, rolled over to face the wall, and slept.

But I didn't sleep well.

@flowerbloom-arts sun dog au has inspired me so I made this ✨ yes it’s gender bent moon goddess hodgkins

Ok guys so here me out- tangled au but with muddler as repunzel? My brain has been on brain rot mode with this concept and I have it all planned out and it would also have just a touch of ✨polyamorus shipping✨ in it-

Muddler= rapunzel

Joxter and fuzzy= both Flynn Ryder

The hemulen aunt= mother gothel,

The inspector= the horse that ends up joining Flynn and rapunzel (does that horse have an actual name...? It’s slipping my mind currently)

Stinky: they guy that originally helped Flynn(fuzzy and joxter) steal the crown in the beginning before working with “mother gothel”

The king= hodgkins

(Muddlers parents where the original queen and king but they where killed in the process of muddlers kidnapping as a baby so that’s why hodgkins is the king but regardless he hopes for his lost nephew to return some day)

Any ways my point is if any one can find a Google doc or drive of the entire Disney’s tangled script? Please send it my way so I can re-write and change some things to make it fit this au- then I can post a fic when I’m done! Also I’m planning on re-drawing some scenes!

Muddler as rapunzel my beloved ✨

@flowerbloom-arts / @sun-dog-au

I made a little fan comic for flowerblooms sundog au, I like to image joxter would be into tarot card readings, and I can see him giving sniff one in the near future so context because I’m to lazy to make more then one page- sniff introduces joxter a bit and then sees he’s doing some thing with cards and asks whats going on, the joxter then shows sniff the cards and shuffles them as he explains how tarot cards work and there purpose, sniff is excited and asks joxter to give him a reading and joxter obliges and goes ahead. Though the cards sniff pulls are such odd ones. It has even joxter stumped.

The sun

The fool

And the hangman...

what ever could it mean?