odybee

[odybee]

Remember that list of assorted Piper quirks? Well, I've been meaning to get back to writing Kyle again, so here's a list of little details about the big, buggy lad!

Was a super outgoing kid contrary to his current demeanor.

Played every Pokemon game up to Sun and Moon as a kid, including Red on his Mom's Gameboy. His teams always included Scyther.

Can't see past the tip of his nose without glasses.

His favorite bug of all time, which is also the one that got him interested in entomology to begin with, is the humble ant. More specifically, fire ants.

Caffeine makes him feel fatigued and sleepy.

Miraculously has a small friend group. He was introduced to it by the only friend he ever made all the way back in elementary school, but he barely ever hangs out with any of them unless prompted.

Doesn't like sugar/sweets.

Despite being a medical entomologist, he has managed to avoid being stung or bitten by anything more painful than a fire ant.

Maintains a garden of berries and flowers along the back and side of his house purely to attract more bugs.

Has put a lot of effort in maintaining steady, gentle hands. He must to properly do his job, which involves handling a lot of extremely delicate specimens.

Major Breaking Point spoilers after the divide!

That final fact may also be one of the reasons why Kyle latches onto Piper so hard, because his ability to hold back is a defense mechanism he's developed since very early in his life. He's always loved holding and studying invertebrates, and as mentioned before, he used to be super open about it. Excited, even, about showing his interest to everyone that would pay attention, because who wouldn't find bugs as cool as he did? Could they not see how beautifully lethal the dragonfly's design is, how the beetle's carapace glistens like a sparkling emerald? He'd proudly present his finds to anyone he could, which most often was another kid on the playground during recess. In doing this, he identified two core problems. One, sometimes he would get too excited and squish or otherwise injure his find. Two, this same excitement seemed to scare people away. So after countless uneasy pep-talks from adults without ever making a single friend, he came to a conclusion.

People, like insects, were easily overwhelmed. The only way he could possibly connect with either would be to first restrain himself, and the safest way to do so was to reduce contact. To listen and observe while minimizing his own personal input, lest they get too close and see or feel something they don't like.

Fast forward fifteen years, and this mindset has led him into a friend group as 'the quiet one' when he desperately wishes to be something more to someone else. Someone that he can be open with, that he can express his excitement around without fear of causing harm. At the very least, someone he could handshake without the nagging feeling that he was somehow doing something wrong.

So imagine how lucky he feels when Piper, the witty little marvel of science with the resilience to survive seemingly anything and the strength to resist absolutely nothing, falls right into his grasp.

[odybee]

Oh my goodness, I completely forgot to talk about Gen V and The Boys! How on Earth could I, a fan of both series even with the g/t aspects aside, forget to talk about them on a g/t account?! Absolutely blasphemous!

Anyway, spoilers for both Gen V and The Boys after the divide. Both shows are meant for mature audiences, so please only view them (and my commentary in turn) if you're 18+.

Ok, so I was completely jazzed to see some g/t in mainstream media of COURSE, and its inclusion (mostly in Gen V) added to how much the series lured me in, great writing aside (excluding S4 of The Boys). And while normally I would be put off by the writer's use of shrinking characters as overly sexual/drug-obsessed caricatures, it's The Boys. No one is spared. I think a lot of people forget how much of it is supposed to be over-the-top satirizations of how people would actually behave in a super-abled society. Plus, that just straight up ignores Emma's existence.

It's mind-boggling to me that Emma didn't just emerge directly from this community. I mean, come on! Size shifter? Check. Tragic, harmful means of and reasoning behind using her abilities? Check. Turns out she might also change size based on her emotions?! Can you get any more on the nose?!

Don't even get me started on her initial meeting with Sam. Oh my goodness gracious I had an absolute field day with those scenes! I was almost equal parts giddy to how much I wanted to implode during the other bit with Emma and that one guy (if you know you know; I'd sooner stick my tongue in a wasp hive than watch those parts again with fresh eyes).

Really *really* hoping that the writers are able to pick up the pieces of season 4 and finish the series off nicely in season 5. I'm hearing a surprising number of people saying season 4 was good, but I personally couldn't disagree more. My boyfriend and I have theorized that it could be due to the writer's strike that so many characters had suddenly lost the plot or stagnated, but who knows. If nothing else, I can appreciate the fresh pieces of g/t media to sate my unending hunger with ;.)

[odybee]

Finished Kyle’s sketch page! Breaking Point spoilers ahead!

As you could also see from the top left corner, there are two more characters that I have yet to mention by name! Grey is the third caretaker that I’d mentioned before the Scuttle post, and Sarah is someone else entirely (ooooo intrigue!) They’ll get their own sketch pages eventually, but that won’t be for a while yet. I was just so excited about Alec’s part of the story that his existence was divulged really early. My bad!

I think the hardest part of this sheet by comparison to Alec’s is how much more touchy Kyle is since him constantly grabbing Piper means I have a lot of hands to draw. Hands are.. kind of difficult, I think! But my *gosh* do I feel great about drawing them properly when they turn out. I’m especially happy with Kyle’s pointing hand in the lower right sketch, because I tend to avoid lateral/medial views of the hands a *lot,* and I think that one turned out pretty good!

Also don’t mind the sketch with really scratchy shading, I got carried away in the zone ;.)

[odybee]

Scuttle: A Smallun's Guide to Human Survival

Humans are dangerous. Just as their brilliant minds bring the stars to their fingertips, so too does it place fiery brimstone at their heels. If you are able to comprehend these words, then you too know this fact better than any wild beast will ever be able to understand, even more so for occupants of human-adjacent vessels irreparably warped by man's cruel, clever hands. We of the lesser race, of the smaller, weaker kind, are of particular interest to them, and must thusly avoid them at all cost. But without the knowledge to do so, the sole asset placing us on any semblance of equal footing with the enemy is squandered, our lives forfeit to fear and terror. That is why this guide exists: to give the weak every possible avenue to avoid the strong, to create escapes where there previously seemed none. Because though the human threat is strong and witty, we need only to look to the masters that have survived their reign for thousands of years to scuttle free.

At long last, I present to you every last bit of information I have on Piper's bug-based martial art form, Scuttle! It's a work-in-progress that is highly subject to change, so I'm really interested to hear other people's questions, critiques and additions. Please don't be shy!

First and foremost, Scuttle is not a guide on how to kill humans. As far as Scuttle is concerned, killing a human is completely impossible and any attempts to do so are suicidal. Rather, it is a guide on how to avoid them by any means necessary and reasonably executed by a tiny (1-5") humanoid that is surviving on their own. It does this by categorizing bug-inspired techniques, also known as bugforms, into a simple 3-part plan on what to do in the presence of a human, each of which is only to be progressed to if the previous part fails:

1- Don't Get Caught (Wings)

2- Run Away (Legs)

3- Strike Back (Sting)

Wings has everything one needs to know about staying out of sight, Legs on creating distance once they've been sighted, and Sting on freeing oneself from a human's grasp should they find themselves there. Every Scuttle part after 1 exists to get the scuttler back to part 1 as smoothly as possible, so a seasoned scuttler would seldom (if ever) see past it under ideal circumstances. That being said, reality is often disappointing, so parts 2 and 3 should be studied closely regardless.

Scuttle also uses a set of highly versatile tools in the vast majority of its techniques. These are called the dreipoints, and there is so much info on them that they will be getting their own section right under this one.

Dreipoints

The dreipoints are a set of two needles, one with one point, the other with two, called the einpoint and zweipoint (or just ein and zwei) respectively. Their primary purpose is to grant the wielder the tiniest bit of extra breathing room during scuttles so that the scuttler has that much more time to react. They accomplish this by creating distance from the human threat while simultaneously granting extra mobility to the wielder, greatly increasing chances of survival so long as they are held on the scuttler's person.

Note that they are referred to as tools rather than weapons, and that a scuttler should always aim to have just one of each point rather than any more of one type. You won't avoid being crushed under a boot by doubling your einpoints, just as you wont inflict any more damage to someone a hundred times your size by stabbing them with two zweipoints. Carrying any more than one set of dreipoints stifles mobility, and should therefore be avoided.

While it is important to the full techniques of Scuttle that scuttlers have one einpoint and zweipoint, both are not required to utilize some of the bugforms to be discussed. This art form is nothing if not accommodating after all, which is also why dreipoints can reasonably come in many different shapes and sizes. Some suitable materials include:

Wood- Best resorted to if none of the other materials can be found. easily worked into a sharp point, but doesn't work well for much past that due to material weakness and roughness.

Chitin- Refers to points made of bug parts such as stingers and mandibles. Naturally sharp and can be poisonous, but not easily obtained.

Metal- Metal points must be scavenged, and are usually found in the form of knitting or medical needles, or even nails and screws. Durable, potentially poisonous, and extremely sharp. These points are ideal.

Glass- Must be scavenged in the form of broken glass. Material's natural sharpness makes this a fantastic choice for defensive use, but is otherwise so brittle that it isn't terribly useful as part of climbing tools.

Other materials such as plastic or paper could also be used if circumstances prevent the use of aforementioned resources.

To maximize mobility, neither dreipoint should be any longer than 3/4 of the scuttler's height. Longer points can be worked with, but they become more unwieldy with length. Similarly, certain wide points like screws and nails can become cumbersome. Do not hesitate to drop your dreipoints during a scuttle to free up extra movement. The ultimate goal is escaping the human, not defeating it.

Certain point types provide their own advantages to scuttlers in distress. Scavenged einpoints have an especially wide selection by comparison to zweipoints, a few of which will be listed here.

Einpoints

Screw

Nail

Sewing Pin

Sewing Needle

Suture Needle

Fish Hook

Thumbtack

Specimen Needle

Hypodermic Needle

Dart Tip

Zweipoints

Porcupine Quill

Sharpened Feather Quill

Medical Transfer Needle

Double-Ended Upholstery Needle

Shaved Specimen Needle

Ideally, the dreipoints will only be used as tool handles or climbing sticks. Worst case scenario, they are for escaping from humans. A sting from a distance allows the most probable means of escape to smalluns that may find themselves in a bind, and the dreipoints exist to create the opening and get them away, but only when wielded in capable hands. This is where bugforms come into play.

Bugforms by Part

As previously mentioned, each part contains several bugforms to guide scuttlers back out of a human's sight. Each will be discussed here, but a more detailed exploration of them must be done through their own individual posts lest this one get too long.

Wings

Roach- Hiding your existence. Unlike walking stick, roach focuses on the best means of hiding deep within the recesses of a home and staying totally hidden while minimizing any risk of ever being found. It also emphasizes resilience, strength, and endurance training. In other words, roach is the techniques used to set up your body and dojo to train in the other ways of Scuttle.

Walking Stick- Hiding in plain sight. Especially useful to scuttlers stuck in precarious positions, such as high up on a shelf, or suspended from a cord.

Cricket- Pass without trace on ground level. Involves means of identifying and utilizing escape routes, creating escape routes if they aren't available, and further minimizing traces of your existence.

Moth- Pass without trace vertically. Just as a moth leaves traces of itself in dust form, a scuttler is bound to leave traces of their struggle to climb no matter what method they use unless they are able to utilize the cricket to ascend. As such, moth mostly explores different means of climbing using the dreipoints while leaving little evidence of doing so.

Also, just as an insect's wings won't work while wet, a scuttler's ability to flea is severely hindered in water. Avoid it whenever possible, but utilize each part as appropriate either way.

Legs

Fly- Embodies observation and reaction. It's best if you see your enemy before they see you, so you have to be the one with a more observant eye. Also explores the reaction- If you've been spotted, you can't afford to hesitate. Run away, and be ready to react to anything they may do next.

Centipede- Running from the ground. Also includes quick means of escape if it involves shoving yourself into a tight space.

Grasshopper- Running from a height. Includes what to do if you're spotted in the situations mentioned in walking stick.

Click Beetle- Explains recovery if one should falter in their escape, but hasn't yet progressed to Sting.

Sting

Mantis- The art of deception during combat, and how to react offensively rather than defensively as in the case of the fly.

Stag Beetle- Grounded struggles and how to effectively use what little strength you have to escape. Though personal strength is the main focus of stag beetle techniques, it also goes over how to channel that strength into the very tips of one's dreipoints.

Wasp- Ungrounded struggles and how to maneuver the dreipoints to most effectively get the target away from oneself.

Assassin Bug- Active dirty tactics such as the use of poisons and blinding sprays.

Spider- Passive dirty tactics. This includes preemptive placement of traps, and using the terrain to further harm the enemy.

So yea! That's what I've got so far. Scuttle also has a sub discipline called Slink that focuses on outdoor survival, but that one is entirely too underdeveloped for me to show at the moment. And like I said before, please don't hesitate to comment! I'd love to hear other people's opinions on this idea.

[odybee]

I've been spending some time writing and re-reading Breaking Point since, heaven help me, chapter 4 is published and chapter 5 is in the works. In the process, I've spackled a few minor plot holes and dialed back on the exposition to generate a little more tension and give me some opportunities to have our current active characters learn about each other organically. It has been interesting to look back on my earlier chapters since there are months between each wave of motivation, which causes little changes in my writing style and workflow between each one, aheha.

Also, I've almost finished a sketch sheet for Piper's current caretaker, Kyle! He's a nerdy weirdo that likes bugs and lacks basic social skills, so he replaces them with info dumps about his favorite crawlies (just like me for real). 'Tis a lonely but productive existence he leads until Piper crashes into his life, and though he won't show it beyond the cold lenses of his eyes, he can barely contain his excitement at seeing what the future could hold for the two of them.

Here's a sneak peak of the sketch sheet, the full version of which will include some more info about him:

There is one more caretaker that I have yet to draw or even speak of, but he will have to wait for a later date. I said I would talk more about Scuttle ages ago, and I've made you all wait long enough!

[odybee]

Omg can I give u a lil head pat 🥺

Feels like moth fuzz!

[odybee]

So I got addicted to Stardew Valley again

I modeled my farmer after B with no plans to come up with any g/t-related lore at all. I just wanted to play through the latest update with a new look since all my other farmers look pretty much the same. Then one day during my first year in fall or winter, I speak to Elliot, prompting this line of dialogue:

This one simple little line sent sparks through my brain. I started typing up an AU explaining how B got the farm in place of Grandpa's niece/nephew, how she runs it and why, and how she interacts with the townsfolk. Expect a few text posts like this one here and there with lore drabbles, hehe. By the by, I apologize for taking so long on the asks yall sent in! I have the answers written and planned, just haven't drawn them yet. I will get at least two of them done within the next two weeks. I'm thrilled that people are interested in my little guys, and I thank you for your questions!

And one more thing, chapter 3 of Breaking Point has been posted to Wattpad, and chapter 4 is in the works. Wish me luck ;.)

[odybee]

Is he robotic or is that a mask? and are those his wings or are they like an attachmant

[odybee]

Holy moly that ask came in fast. Just give me one sec to figure out how to use this thing..

Nevermind, the camera has a timer.

Hello.

[odybee]

Guess who made another new character! Wahoo!!

This is B. They will serve as my 'sona' for this account. Bee that as it may, B is still partially their own character, and I will answer any lore-related asks directed at them accordingly.

[odybee]

Gosh, I can relate to this so much. Just the other day I was trying to tell my friend why I enjoy Grounded beyond it being a good game, and it felt like the words were trying to run and hide as I spoke despite none of the g/t content I consume being NSFW. Even as I play Grounded with other people that don't (to my knowledge) know what g/t is, it almost feel like I'm misleading them. Like I'm somehow fooling them into sharing an interest with me that they would otherwise reject.

It's become so tiresome that I've considered just ripping the bandaid off and telling anyone that cares to listen. Perhaps that would even help destigmatize g/t a bit.

random g/t rant

having a g/t hyperfixation or special interest is so hard, it’s all i think about but the one thing i don’t talk about like i can’t talk about it to anyone except for random ppl on tumblr, but i mean i CAN talk about it but it’s not rlly normalized soooooo. i don’t even like to watch gt things with other ppl bcz i just feel uncomfortable. gt is often viewed as a fetish and i know wanting to hide it makes it seem even worse but i just feel like i have to for some reason. gt is all that occupies my mind like if u see me spaced out i’m thinking about gt i always am, it just gets tiring not being able to go on rants to ppl irl.

[odybee]

Fellas, I am absolutely hopeless.

I made the executive decision to purchase a shirt with a breast pocket off Omocat's online shop like two months ago, and both times that I've worn it, I've gotten childishly happy thinking about a little guy just popping their head out of the pocket. Any time I felt sad or overwhelmed during the day, the pocket's simple presence sent dopamine through my tiny lizard brain.

What can I say? I'm a simple person with simple desires!

[odybee]

G/t Secret Santa Gift

@sugarthegecko hello! I'm your Secret Santa. I'm sorry it took me this long to get this gift to you, things have been a bit hectic where I am.

I wanted to try something new and wrote a one shot! It also comes with a few colored sketches I made along the way of the two antagonists. I will put the drawings at the end of the story. Hope you enjoy!

---===+===------===+===------===+===------===+===---

Hadotrauma

Word count- 3854

Contains: Intentional fearplay, implied vore (let me know if you think I should add more here, this is my first time posting something like this)

---===+===---

It was a beautiful day to be beneath the waves. The normally dull weather that hangs over the Bermuda Triangle was set to clear for the entire week, leaving uncharacteristically safe conditions for a reconnaissance mission that Jack had been losing his little mind over for months.

A small vessel carrying a family heirloom, a gold-crested lock box dating back a few hundred years, had gotten hit by a stray wave, forcing the captain onto a lifeboat as his ship capsized and quickly sank. The good news is that the captain survived, which is how Jack got enough information to take the job at all. His recounting of where the boat was when it went under was spot on too, which is especially nice because finding out where the wreck is was only half the battle for this particular job. See, in escaping the ship with his life, the captain wasn’t able to get the lockbox, meaning it went down with his ship. The family it belonged to was less than thrilled, to say the very least.

And that’s when Jack heard about it. The family was willing to pay a fortune to whoever stepped up and got the box back; not that Jack was diving for an extra paycheck. Even before he had decided he wanted to be a marine archaeologist, he'd been enamored with stories of the mythical Bermuda Triangle. Tales of monsters appearing from its shadowy depths, however unrealistic, were something he liked to think about to keep his job interesting when things got slow. He could just see a megalodon’s lifeless eye peering up at him from the inky water, just waiting for him to get close enough to-

“Helloo, Jack? You there?” A voice sounded from the receiver in Jack’s mask, making him jump a little in surprise.

“M-Huh? Sorry Lori, yea, I’m here.”

“Good. Please try to focus? There could be sharks or marlins.”

“Of course, my bad.”

Lori is Jack’s assistant. A bit of a hardass, but he’s been getting through to her lately. Once the nerves of jumping into the water and sinking into the dark wear off and it’s just the two of them, she can be really fun to talk to. For however long the communications decide to keep working in their masks, that is. Water pressure doesn’t play nice with lightweight electronics.

As the silent descent continued and Jack made a mental note to complain to his manager, a boxy silhouette began taking form in the sea of shadows beneath him. A thin line of bubbles excitedly glimmering in the glow of Jack’s headlight made its way up from the shape,  meaning they were right on target.

“Bingo! You got an eye on it, Lori?”

“Sure do. Here’s hoping my camera’s still works, I just got a new lens for it.”

“Camera? Ooo, we actually gonna try to get a picture of a sea monster?”

“As much as I’d love to, no. Our clients just said they wanted to see where the box ended up. Plus, it’s great publicity. Tourist subs don’t get this far down. I’ll send you a postcard from the kraken’s stomach if we end up finding one though.” Lori fidgeted with the bulky tool as she descended a little ways above Jack, ensuring that nothing was gunking up the lens.

“What? You can’t get eaten! I’d be all alone down here..”

“A great white shark once said, ‘fish are friends, not food’. You can be friends with the kraken, or you can join me in its belly.”

“Yea yea, I bet the fish would be fresh in there anyways.” Jack made first contact with the wreckage now just beneath his feet as Lori playfully responded in disgust. The white plating of the boat’s hull barely had time to erode, much less allow algae growth, so it almost looked like it could float again. And it probably could have, were it not for the captain’s incompetence. Jack had thought it sounded strange for just one stray wave to send a boat under so quickly, so it was likely that the poor guy just didn’t do proper maintenance on the vessel’s coolant pipes and didn’t want to admit it. Nothing short of a missile could send a boat down that easily otherwise.

Feeling satisfied with his inspection of the boat’s port side, Jack made his way up to the open door of what appeared to be the helm. Peering in, there looked to be a small ladder leading down from right behind the captain’s controls.

“Okay, I’m gonna start looking for the box. You coming?”

“Yea, just getting some pictures of the outside first. Let me know when you find it so we can swap out. The two of us might clog up the cabin if we both go.”

“Aah, good thinking. Alright, I’ll let you know.” And into the wreckage he went.

---===+===---

“What the hell is that? Some kind of malformed angler fish?”

“I’m trying to tell you dude, it’s a human! I saw another one swim into that wreck, too!”

Nac layed low to the seabed, shyly pointing a claw at a tiny figure as it waved a cone of light around in the water. Every now and then it would suddenly flash an even brighter light from a box in its hands, then swim off to flash it at something else. Nac had to suppress a startled flinch in his tail at the brightness.

Nac’s more squid-shaped friend Rel rested in the seabed alongside him, squinting in confusion at the little human as it floundered about, flashing its light seemingly at random. “I didn’t know humans had lures, nor that they came down this deep. Are you absolutely positive that it isn’t just a big angler? I’m hungry.”

“Yes! Positive! I’m pretty sure that one’s ‘lure’ is just another human gadget, which I’ll bet is how they got all the way down here too. Cool, right?”

“Yea, I guess,” Rel sighed. “Oh well, they’re small but they’ll have to do. Dibs on this one,” he finished as he tried to take off from the sand. But before he could get anywhere, Nac latched onto one of his tentacles and held fast.

“Ugh, what is it Nac?”

“Jeez, chill out for a second, dude! We never get to see humans down here. Could we at least..” Nac’s tail twitched a bit as his eyes lit up. “Could we at least mess with them a little first? You’re hungry, I’m bored, it’s a win-win!”

Rel pulled back and put two fingers up to his chin, mulling over Nac’s proposal. “Mmm fine. But I’m taking both of them.”

“What? Hey! I’ve never tried human either, dude! Share!” Nac pouted, his claws subconsciously digging into Rel’s flesh.

“Ow! Okay, fine! I’ll take the one closest, you take the one in the wreck. Now would you please let go?”

“Sounds good, buddy! Have fun and don’t get hooked!” Nac exclaimed as he bolted off into the dark.

“Right.” Rel moped, staring at his prey. The passengers on this boat were supposed to have been his anyway! How was he supposed to know that it was only empty because the one thing he sank it for had gotten away?

Whatever. Perhaps this really would be more fun.

---===+===---

“What was that?”

Lori’s voice came on suddenly after silence had taken hold of the comms for a good ten minutes, making Jack bump his head against the ship’s hull. Ow!

“If you mean the sounds coming from the boat, that would be my head slamming against the hull.”

“No no, it wasn’t a sound, just..” Lori went quiet for a moment. “Nevermind. I’m seeing things.”

“We can call the expedition early if you want,” Jack checked his oxygen gauge. “I could do with a fresh tank anyway. We’re gonna have to make stops on the way up.”

“It’s fine, just keep looking for the box. I’m done out here.” Lori swiveled her head around as she made her way up to the door that Jack’d swam in through, but she couldn’t see anything. It was all black past the cone of her headlight, which was beginning to feel uncomfortably small. “Could you hurry up please? The water isn’t getting any warmer.”

“Sheesh, alright, hold on. I just need to- Ah! There it is! Lori, I found the-”

…

“Hello? Jack, you there?”

But the comms were nothing but static. It wasn’t exactly a surprise; these microphones were in desperate need of an upgrade. But something didn’t feel right this time. Something felt terribly, terribly wrong. There was a shadow, some inky blot that kept just to the corners of her eyes. It could be a shoal of fish, but then, why would it move like that? It’s almost as if.. As if..

Lori jumped violently as a few rhythmic knocks sounded from the boat’s main body, a signal that she and Jack had come up with the first time their microphones cut out to make sure they could still keep track of each other in the wreckage. She swam close to the hull to return the knocks, and as she did so, something brushed past her foot.

Immediately, Lori flipped around and prepared to bop a shark in the nose, but nothing was there. It was still just water, sand, and the void beyond her light, unknown and unyielding. She could feel her heartbeat start to pick up, the claustrophobic confines of her suit seeming to constrict her body in nervous warmth.

Just then, through the static of Lori’s mask, Jack’s voice started coming back through. “Hellooo? Loriii? Lori Dory Oreo, you there?” 

Lori steadied herself, the relief of hearing Jack’s voice overshadowed by the intense need to stay completely on alert as she took a moment to respond. “Jack, I think something is here.”

“Uuh yea? There is a boat, maybe some fish, and this totally awesome box that I’m coming out to let you take a picture of.”

“No, Jack, I mean something is in the water. I think it’s watching us.”

Jack laughed in cruel dismission. “Oh haha Lori. Good try, but I’m not that easy to scare. Good on you for taking the opportunity while we’re here, though!”

“Jack, seriously. We have to go right now. Screw the bends, we just need to-”

“Need to what?” 

… 

“Lori? Did this stupid thing cut out again?”

“It sees me.”

“What? What sees you? Lori, are you okay?”

…

“Lori, come on, this isn’t funny anymore. I’ll be out in a sec, just hang ti-”

…

The feed cut to static once more, leaving Lori completely alone, staring at two huge, luminous yellow eyes like a guppy in floodlights. She wanted to move, wanted to swim up and out of the water with all her might, but she simply couldn’t. The thing’s gaze froze her muscles into place, as if the water itself had turned to ice.

Without warning, a ginormous clawed hand shot out from the black shroud, enveloping Lori’s entire body before she could even scream.

Lori wasted no time in thrashing against the creature’s flesh with everything she had. The utility knife that’d been clipped to her belt was instantly freed, wildly slashing an escape into the walls of her pale prison. The creature loosened its grip in response, but only just enough to let Lori’s head pop out while it squeezed the life out of her. Even as dark spots began taking up her vision, she dared to look up at its face.

Dark, navy blue skin beautifully complimented the yellow eyes of a face that looked insultingly human, apart from two long, pointy ears. Long, white hair unfurled from the top of its head; each lock a set of tangling waves to further drown Lori’s hopes in. But she was too exhausted to fight now; any oxygen she had was forced from her lungs. Unwilling to gaze into the creature’s maw, she let the last of her waking moments be spent looking into its eyes.

She wondered why it looked so disappointed.

And all went dark.

---===+===---

“Lori? Lori?! Goddamnit, this stupid microphone! One second Lori, I’ll be right out!” Jack called into the dark cabins of the boat, his fists banging against the walls as he made his way out. In all his panic, Jack hadn’t realized that he made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, placing him on the starboard side of the hull’s interior.

Right where he could see a huge, perfectly circular gash that’d been punched into the ship’s metal plating.

“What the hell?! But he said-” but he had no time to waste. He had to get out of the ship right now, and he figured the breach should be just large enough to let him through, even with all his gear on.

Without a second thought, Jack grabbed the edges of the hole and prepared to hoist himself out into the open water. He only needed one mighty kick, and then he’d be able to find Lori and get the hell out of he-

“Hello~”

..!

Jack snapped his head up at the sudden noise, only to be met face-to-face with some massive thing with a human face. It had a long, toothy grin on its pale, scarred countenance, and every one of its teeth looked sharp enough to cut diamond.

…

Jack retreated back into the boat.

He clawed onto any surface he could in an attempt to force himself deeper into the ship’s body, desperate to get away from the thing just outside the paper thin walls. Jack could hear it chuckle as he clamored away, but just as he had clung onto a door, the thing started sucking water out through the breach. The force of the current was so strong that Jack’s hands were ripped away from the doorframe, sending him careening into the beast’s terrible jaws.

Rather than being instantly ripped apart, Jack growled into his mask as his stomach was met with several rows of teeth and his tank clinked against the thing’s lower set. The sharp points were catching on the fabric of his suit, just barely avoiding cutting into his skin. In an attempt to regain his bearings, he curled up and placed his hands against the monster’s lips, desperately trying to ignore the fact that he was about to be bitten in half.

“Nac, would you quit toying with it? I’m still hungry and the sun will be down soon.” another voice suddenly chided from somewhere behind Jack’s head.

“One shecond,” the sharkish creature responded, its voice rattling through Jack’s skull like a bell. “Itsh really hutting uh a hight!”

The other voice gained an edge in its tone. “Don’t speak with your mouth full.”

Jack’s fruitless struggle against the shark’s jaws suddenly came to a halt as it plucked him out of its lips like a cherry stem, thankfully with all of his lower body intact, except the utility knife that was supposed to be clipped to his hip was gone. Fingers were wrapped around him just as he tried to kick away, and there he continued to squirm.

“I said it’s really putting up a fight! See? Look at this one go! Even now it’s still wiggling around.”

“Yea, they tend to do that when they’re about to die. Speaking of, you should really be getting on with it.”

“Whatever dude, I was getting to that!”

The hand holding Jack’s entire body in place loosened up, allowing his blood to run cold and fast at the sight of an approaching maw. His headlight served to reveal every gruesome detail he hadn’t been privy to from the beast’s lips, including bits of viscera stuck between its three rows of teeth.

What if thats-

“OH MY GOD, WAIT, WAIT! PLEASE!” Jack pleaded through his mask after suppressing a gag. But his cries didn’t even reach the shark, not even a flinch came of its ears.

Flippers met the surface of the monster's tongue. It was too soft to push off of, not that anything he did would allow him to escape. The shark’s gills were probably quivering in anticipation, waiting to bring him down, down, down. What more could he do but jam his eyes shut and.. and..!

“STOP!!”

…

A pause. It seemed to last an eternity. Jack’s mouth had opened, but he didn’t know why. Let alone that it had released a sound loud enough to rival the thing he was about to be silenced by.

…

“Nac, please. This is getting old. And why do you look like that? It doesn’t taste that bad.”

The monster, henceforth known as Nac, once again plucked Jack out of his jaws, then brought Jack to the front of his face. The two stared at each other, both some strange mix of horrified and confused.

“Did.. did you hear that?” Nac spoke, almost in a coo. “I think it just talked to me.”

“Oh sure, Nac, because that makes complete sense. Listen, if you don’t want to eat it that badly, just give it to me. No need to make up such utter nonsense.”

“No, really!” Nac’s voice shot up again. Jack felt like he was going to implode. “I think it made a word! Like, a word word! Listen, I bet it can do it again, see?”

Jack was abruptly turned around and presented to a second enormous creature with a human face, this one having a tentacled lower half and extremely long hair. If the lack of care Nac had in handling Jack’s body didn’t kill him first, then surely his heart would pound hard enough to escape from his chest.

The other creature raised an eyebrow at Jack, then sighed and leaned in so he was close to its ear. He supposed that meant he was supposed to speak, but the words weren’t coming out. The lump in his throat just wouldn’t al-

“Ow! QUIT IT!” Jack yelled, feeling three rough taps against the top of his helmet. The navy blue creature in front of him jumped slightly. Jack froze in place.

“See! I told you!” Nac barked as his friend pulled away.

“B-but, how is that even-” it paused. “I’ll be.. Right back.”

The other monster’s tentacles disappeared into the abyss, leaving Jack and Nac alone together. For a moment, they just stared at each other in silence, but Nac was quick to fill it with a torrent of questions and niceties.

“This is so gnarly, dude! Oh my god, hiii! I can actually say that now and it isn’t weird! Do you think it’s weird to talk to fish? Rel says it's stupid because they can’t understand what you’re saying, so it’s even more weird that you of all things would be able to talk back! Do you have a name? Do humans even have names? Do you guys know any other fish like us? Go on, talk!” 

Nac’s smile returned to his face, somehow even larger than it’d been when Jack was trapped halfway inside of it. This couldn’t possibly be happening. It had to be some sort of decompression-induced fever dream. In just a moment, Jack would wake up to Lori squawking at him to get back on the boat.

Wait..

“LORI!” Nac’s ears twitched as Jack piped up again. “Where is Lori?!”

Nac’s slit eyes seemed to stare straight through Jack at the question.

“Aheheh, erm, uh, well, about that. The other human, they’re..” Nac looked around as though trying to catch her swimming away. “Theeeyyy’rrreee- oh! They’re right there! See? Rel has them!”

Nac turned Jack and pointed into the dark, where two yellow spots preceded the return of the second giant creature, Rel. In its hand was the comparatively small, black-and-silver form of Lori, lying completely still.

“O-oh my god. Oh my GOD! LORI! LORI!” Jack began squirming again, wanting nothing more than to make sure his friend was okay. But the shark held firm.

“Calm down, this human is fine.. Somehow. I felt its heart beating through this extra layer of skin you wear. Is it how you two managed to get down here?” Rel quizzed Jack, who had ceased struggling to lock eyes with the thing holding his friend.

“I-I, just..” Jack checked his oxygen gauge. Less out of necessity, and more out of habit for the sheer fact that not a bone in his body wanted him looking these monsters in the eyes. Forty-five minutes remaining, miraculously. He steeled himself, “Could you please, please bring us back up? I need to know if she’s okay.”

“Eh? Why would we need to go up?” Nac swam to Rel’s side, turning Jack along the way so that both monsters were in his view. “Are you trying to leave?”

“No! No, we just.. Our tanks only have enough time left for a few stops, and I don’t want Lori to get the bends. It might kill her if we don’t take our time.” As much as he wanted to get out of the water, Jack knew that it would only make matters worse if he wasn’t careful. Though he couldn’t see Lori’s actual condition, he chanced a guess that it wasn’t great if she’d passed out. Even if the monsters were just toying with him again, asking for their help was a risk he had to take. It didn’t seem like either of them wanted him gone anyway.

“Right.” Rel said promptly, though he looked at Jack like he’d just grown an extra head. “And, what exactly does that mean? Can’t you breathe here?” “..What?” Jack felt like he’d been slapped in the face. What kind of a question.. “N- Okay, you know what, wait. How about this. I’ll explain everything on the way up, and if you really want to, we can chat on the boat. I’ll also let you know when to stop and go, that way we can avoid barotrauma. Does that sound okay?”

…

“Yea, sure dude! Sounds good!” Nac, surprise surprise, put on a big stupid grin once again.

“I.. Suppose so. Just, don’t try to leave. Okay?” Though it seemed like Rel had composed himself, his eye twitched a smidge as he looked at Jack again.

Jack shrank back a little. “No problem!”

Jack wasn’t sure how long either of their composures would last in the long, cold journey back up to the surface, but he had to hope that it would be enough time for him to at least see Lori awake again. He himself had questions for the two sentient fish men he was somehow communicating with, and he had to admit that it was a bit exciting. Never once did he think that the stories he’d been told as a child were anywhere close to reality, and yet here he was, wrapped in the claws of a megalodon and conversing with a kraken, all while being in one piece. Of all the things to come of this trip beneath the waves, only one was certain.

It was going to be a long way up.

---===+===------===+===------===+===------===+===---

(This last drawing is a reference to a Spongebob scene. Just seemed in-character for a guy like Nac)

[odybee]

OhmyGOODNESS thank you so much!! This is absolutely adorable and nice reprieve from all the story beats I've yet to put them through, hehe

You're all good! I'm totally done with my gift and am definitely not 3/4 of the way done, ahehaha..

Secret Santa 💕!!!!

This is my secret Santa 4 @odybee

I love these oc designs and their story so far. I don't know if this scenario is real or not but hey I like it. I hope you do too. :D

I'm sorry I'm a bit late but I'm glad I participated in secret Santa this year

I hope you have a merry Christmas 🎄✨ and a great new years 🎉

[odybee]

REBLOG IF ITS OKAY TO TALK TO YOU.

Please.

[odybee]

Leaving a note for secret Santa so it's easier for them to see what's what ^^

Hello secret Santa! I would be delighted to receive written or drawn art of one or both of my OCs Piper and Alec this year. Piper is a hot-headed ex-militant that was shrunk down to a mere 2.5 inches tall after some event she can't remember the nature of, and Alec is a well-intentioned chemistry teacher that just wants to keep her safe. She wants him to fuck off, and shenanigans ensue.

Of course, you don't have to draw or write about those two if you don't want to! I'd be delighted to receive any gift that involves my favorite trope: angst. Fearplay, trepidation, and misunderstandings that lead to one or both parties acting rash are my bread and butter, and I'd love to see what you can do!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and good luck!

[odybee]

talking about g/t with irl friends

You heard it here folks, I’ve done it. I’ve been able to rant about g/t to my friends without the embarrassment of them figuring out I want to be tiny/have tiny friends. How did I do it? A simple formula. It’s normal for me to have an ‘icebreaker question’ that my friends and I talk about and the one I had been using for months got old so I scrapped it. Instead, I acted like I consulted with some friends about figuring out a new one and decided on this:

‘what would you do if you were tiny for 24 hours?’

seems simple enough and unassuming of any ulterior purpose but by asking my friends this question I have made them unknowingly fascinated with g/t. The past two days I’ve been surrounded with debate on what all my friends would do while tiny, such things involving having me take care of them or wanting to put me in a pocket.

this is the life, people ( ´∀｀)