The Trails We Blaze

Rating: Mature

Words: 41,035

Chapters: 12/?

Summary:

Simon and Baz have been through a lot together. Growing up as criminals on London's streets; surviving the Great War; dealing with a lot of repressed feelings. But after their latest con goes wrong, they're left with nothing but an ancient map, a signet ring of unknown provenance or value, and promises of a city that doesn't even exist.

Thrust into a world of adventure with danger at every turn, they're forced to decide how far they're willing to go for a myth, a fortune, and a chance at love.

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11

Thank you to @artsyunderstudy for helping to beta read this beast of a fic and for producing some amazing artwork! I'm so excited to share this COTTA2023 (@carryonthroughtheages) fic with you all!

Gotta love how the hsr MC has nothing but to find their own identity due to the lack of their past and who they were

and then they decided that who they want to be is someone that sorts through the trash cans and causing chaos everywhere they go

it is still so wild to me that the first full thai gl we got was filled with so many different types of kisses and sex scenes and explicit wlw love making i thank the stars every day for freenbecky

Ah, haha. To be free from the schakles of his unjust life, death is the only answer. Now, wether it was true death or a dream one, didn't matter. In the end, the result of this gamble is the same; freedom. By sacrificing all his chips in one grandeous gamble; his cornerstone, his life, even betraying the trust of the Trailblazer and becoming the villain of his story - could Aventurine archieve that which he had dreamt of all his life: the right to live. It's a shame about his friend, though. That betrayed look in those golden depths - yeah, it stung, funnily enough. It's not like they were actually close, right? He gave the Trailblazer neverending credits, in return he recieved a valuable alliance for this endevour. It was all just a bussiness transaction. Life is a grand gamble, and nothing comes without a price. Aventurine knew this very well; it had been ingrained into his damned soul.

He had always been lucky. By betting all or nothing into this cursed luck of his, he always walked out a winner. If Giathra really had blessed him with boundless luck, then why did he never feel happy? Even now, as he had freed himself from the clutches of the IPC and the Family - and having found his way back to the waking world... All he felt was, empty? No that is not right. Dread gnawed at the corners of his conciousness - reminding him of the consequences left in the wake of his freedom. Caelus. Haha, he probably doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. After all, he had feigned the threat of detonating the stellaron inside his chest. Aventurine sighed as he made his way towards the Express. It's stupid. He could go anywhere he wanted now, and yet he comes crawling back to the Astral Express. For what? Good question. Why does he go back to them? To apologize in hopes of blazing a trail among the stars together with Caelus? Oh, it's a gamble, for sure. Once a gambler, always a gambler.

❛ We meet again, friend, but don't worry... I'm not here to instigate any discourse. ❜ The former stoneheart greeted, upon having caught the Trailblazer's eyes. Oh, he does not look happy to see him, which was understandable, of course. Nervosity sank in; dwelling underneath the Gambler's breath. Yet, despite the unfavored situation, he kept a calm appearance. // @iiryoku closed starter.

oh i love him

plus:

Fully scried Mass Hatch kids 10/55, fav scry showcase

Today's notes: #8 is a strong contender for a keeper, I adore that Gaoler scry. Meanwhile, #7 has been designated an Ugly Baby after many scry attempts. Not a fan.

#6 Wine/Sanddollar/Sanguine, Ice Common, Male

#7 Fern/Caramel/Purple, Light Common, Female

#8 Cobalt/Cerulean/Copper, Light Uncommon, Female

#9 Lavender/Sky/Teal, Shadow Uncommon, Female

#10 Black/Carmine/Ruby, Nature Common, Male

Forgot to add:

This movie has been on repeat for the toddler for about a week or so now. So here’s a song for y’all to enjoy (that I’ve essentially relearned the all the lyrics to)!

⭐ Go stargazing with your muse (Em/Theo, please!)

Em was delighted to find a fellow adventurer in Theo. While Feyre made for excellent company for shorter excursions, he couldnt imagine how ling it would take them to hike the Appalachian Trail at her pace. In his opinion- Not every bug , plant, and critter needed to be catalogued. Though Feyres opinion differed greatly . Because science or whatever. That was fine when you didn't have miles upon miles of hiking ahead of you. As it Turned out Avens brother was the type to document too and managed to encourage Feyre to wait for them with Aven at the cabin that would mark the end of their hike by promising to take photos. Em was certain there was no changing Feyres mind once it was made up but it seemed that Theo was the trick to getting Feyre to agree to just about anything. Emmett chuckled to himself as he worked to set up the tree slung hammock that would be his bed for the night only to have his focus drawn away by Theos call of "Have a look at that." Em had come to learn that Theo wasn't a man of many words so an actual exclamation from the brunette was more than enough to draw Ems attention from the final tie he looped against the tree he stood behind. Emmetts Eyes shifted to Theo and then up into the direction he was pointing. He couldnt help but laugh out loud with pure surprise as he watched the rain of stars streak over the already star flecked wonder that was the unfiltered night sky that only places far from city lights and plumbing had to offer. While Em knew Aven would not have been enthusiastic about the walk and not to mention the moments of climbing-- He would have loved to share this with her. "You should radio the girls- I'm sure they can see this from the cabin." He smiled tenderly at the storm of light flashing across the sky as he fished a blunt from his pocket. "You want to really take a look at the stars?"

I know im the funny haha comic person but i really do want to sell merch at conventions or online too ya know. Think that would be easier than doing commissions once a year pshh

I have to wonder what it is that's spurred multiple separate websites to purge inactive accounts... for Imgur, Twitter, and Google to announce it within a month of each other it's gotta be something, right? And it'd be weird for it to be a simple follow-the-leader thing with Imgur of all sites being the trailblazer. I'm still stuck at what the advantage even is. A bit of server space doesn't seem worth all the problems it causes. I guess it could be part of encouraging the whole content churn that advertisers love. Idk I hate the future.

Six Sentence Sunday

Yes, 2023 is drawing to a close. Yes, I have been lurking for (I think) months at this point. Yes, I have been writing. Thank you so much to everyone who has been tagging me in recent weeks/months, I'm so sorry I haven't been interacting as much with you all as I have in the past. In the last few months I just haven't had the social battery to do much more than just lurk in comments sections, and sometimes not even that (autistic burnout is not fun, can confirm, 0/10, do not recommend).

But I'm back, and here's hoping 2024 is a good year, and one that's productive where writing is concerned! 2023 was a pretty good year for me; I published my first fic (which was also the first bit of writing I've properly published anywhere!), and I sent off my first query for ASR! To a proper literary agent! Like ... WHAT?! I still can't believe it!

As for the end of this year, let's get one last hurrah in for the year of 2023 with the final WIPsday of the year. Chapter 11 of Trails is coming, it just needs to be edited. Here's an unedited snippet of the chaos you have to look forward to.

“When I tell you to, run like fuck,” Fiona tells us, clicking the hammer back on her revolver.  “How many more rounds have you got?” Penny asks. “Enough to take down half the idiots aboard this ship.” Fiona takes up a position on one side of the hatch, her finger on the trigger guard. As she moves I hear the tell tale clink of a box of rounds, and see the outline of it in her trouser pocket for the first time. “Fiona,” I caution. “Maybe we should try to do this quietly.” “No chance of that, boyo. I’m killing as many of these fuckers as I can before we go overboard.” “Fiona,” I try again, but she isn’t listening. “The lifeboat is on the right side,” Penny whispers to us, eyeing Fiona out of the corner of her eye. We’ll lower you into it, Baz, then follow.” I guess I don’t have much of a say in this, as Snow is literally the only reason I’m still standing right now. I nod, and Penny creeps up the stairs behind Fiona, who does so about as well as a bull in a china shop. She storms out onto the deck and I’m actually surprised by how long it takes for bullets to start flying. There’s a solid fifteen seconds or so, which allows Bunce to make it up the stairs and gesture for us to follow, before an alarm is raised and Fiona does what she does best: cause chaos.

This hiatus with Trails wasn't planned, but work and general holiday madness got in the way of the tentative schedule my beta's and I had. New Year, fresh start, once more into the fray, as they say. I hope you can join us for this fics future shenanigans.

Tagging for the new year: @artsyunderstudy @aristocratic-otter @bazzybelle @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @cattocavo @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @cosmicalart @cutestkilla @dragoneggos @erzbethluna @ebbpettier @fatalfangirl @frjsti @henreyettah @hushed-chorus @ic3-que3n @ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @krisrix @larkral @letraspal @martsonmars @nightimedreamersworld @orange-peony @prettylightsbigcity @palimpsessed @phoxphyre @raenestee @shrekgogurt @skeedelvee @stardustasincocaine @subparselkie @that-disabled-princess @theearlgreymage @wellbelesbian @you-remind-me-of-the-babe 

what does it say about me that my current longest fic and the fic that will probably end up being my longest fic are both, at their core, about two kids who just want to be in love but believe themselves to be destined for tragedy

"The trail we blaze"

Lúvia Salú.

Campina Grande, Paraíba - Brazil. 2022.

thank you non mcyt mutuals for sticking with me through my insanity btw. i normally keep my mcyt interest stuff kinda hidden bc i am scared of being harassed but eh fuck it i know how to cultivate my online experience

tags update

‘⠀watch me leave my soul to you ( ic )

‘⠀silly kitty ( ooc )

‘⠀what was i made for? ( headcanon )

‘⠀mafia princess ( self )

‘⠀i've got my heart set on anywhere but here ( musings )

‘⠀every step that i take is another mistake to you ( behavior )

‘⠀the trail we blaze ( aesthetics )

‘⠀i whisper in your ear‚ "i want to fucking tear you apart" ( desires )

‘⠀raindrops and purrs of cats ( music )

‘⠀the normal one ( kris )

‘⠀tag ( lyra )

‘⠀casanova dorado ( gold )

‘⠀now please can i kiss him? ( gold x silver )