#Tumbles ttcc

[st4rstudent]

They're friends btw

bonus slop. ignore the namedropper isnt very toony. i will have to practice grunt cogs..................later.

[toontown-corporate-confessions]

I WANT TO KISS TUMBLES SO BAD IT MAKES ME LOOK STUPID >////<

aww

[hayridetoo]

these youtube recommendations just get weirder and weirder, what the hell is this!?

[yourlocaltoad]

Some recent stupid doodles

the purple kiwi toon belongs to @phoandori

[mad-doodle-disease]

//spoilers for last post (a love this deep)

[staticshipstation]

📺Welcome to my self ship blog!📺

Hi I'm Max! I go by They/Them Tv/Tvs and Toon/Toons!

This is my self shipping blog! Made primarily so I can have a space just to sort of gush about F/Os and stuff.

My Main F/O is Dingodile from Crash Bandicoot! (tag:Bread and Butter)

Other Romantic F/Os that you can find on here:

Terry (Soul) (Tag: After Love)

Roxanne Wolf (FNAF) (Tag: My Favorite)

Lena Hyena (WFRR) (Tag: ?????)

Ramaraffe (MaoMao) (Tag: ?????)

Mommy Long Legs (PPT) (Tag: Bubblegum)

Alice Angel (BATIM) (Tag: Fallen Angel)

Deep Diver (TTCC) (Tag: Angel Fish)

Dragon King (MK 2023) (Tag:Boiling Water)

There's more but this list will be updated.

Familial F/OS that you can find!

(Parental)

King K Rool (DK) (Tag: Silver and Gold)

Bowser (Mario) (Tag: ????)

King Dedede (Kirby) (Tag: Dreamland Throne)

More to be Added!

(Children)

Wooly (ATA) (Tag: Peach Nugget)

Figment (Disney) (Tag: Little Spark)

Scapegoat (Toontown) (Tag: ????)

Sonic.Exe (Creepypasta) (Tag: Xavier Maurice Hog)

Helpy (Fnaf) (Tag: Little Helper)

The Toon Patrol (Tag:Roadkill Rascals)

More To Be Added!

(Siblings)

Pain and Panic (Disney) (Tag: Chaos Trio)

Rough and Tumble (Sonic) (Tag: Burglar Brothers)

Scratch and Grounder (Sonic) (Tag: Robroniks)

Montgomery Gator (Fnaf) (Tag: Rock and Roll)

More to be added!

Other Blogs:

Main Blog (https://www.tumblr.com/kingmaxstatic)

X Reader Blog (https://www.tumblr.com/maxslibrary)

[st4rstudent]

first batch

[mad-doodle-disease]

a love this deep

tumbles took one last glance at his gun sitting on the table, before deciding to look around. when else was he going to get the chance to walk around a cute little house made by hand? certainly not anytime soon, considering the apocalypse. it was a very cute little makeshift home, pictures in photographs, half-wilted yet still pretty plants, paintings "borrowed" from other abandoned shops, trinkets. it seemed untouched by the chaos and havoc that went on outside, as if it existed in it's own little pocket dimension. it was so lovely.

but as tumbles continued deeper and deeper into the house, the odd smell he noticed before became more and more prevalent. less like an odd smelling candle, more... tumbles brain blocked it out. it was probably nothing, the general good vibes from this home couldn't shield it from EVERYTHING going on outside. maybe the original owner died in here and flint just wasn't able to get the smell out. but, damn, it was potent.

the smell got noticeably bad near a trap door on the ground though. curiosity got the better of tumbles... what died down there? smelled like a fucking animal or something. he kicked it open, the stench immediately overwhelming him.

tumbles: oh, cog! what the hell, maaan!?

tumbles began to walk down into the cellar, starting to believe something was up. that fucking smell, man. it didn't just smell like something only DIED in there, but was currently rotting. fuck, it smelled like a ton of things were rotting. tumbles got to the bottom of the staircase, fishing his flashlight out of his backpack. immediately once turning it on, he immediately regretted it.

short green skelecog, suit c based on the build, laid in an awkward position, mouth agape in a permanent expression of horror. tumbles immediately screamed, pointing the flashlight up to try to not look at sight anymore. bad choice, absolutely horrible choice, there were more. another skelecog, blue, suit a?? very toon shaped skeletons too. horrible. horrible horrible horrible. tumbles barely got a look at the, uh, other figure in the basement before immediately bolting back up the stairs. pupils dilated to the point of resembling milky white boba pearls, on it's hands and... knees?? were those knees?? the fucking legs... they looked so fucked up. the fucking hair THE FUCKING FACE. was that even a cog??? what the HELL WAS THAT?!!?

tumbles: FLINT!! FLINT!! HELP, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE BASEMENT THERE'S SOMETHING IN YOUR BASEMENT!!

the kiwi tried to reach for his gun holstered on his hip as he ran up the steps, intending to fire at whatever that goddamn thing was if it tried to scramble after him. he wouldn't just let another very obviously dangerous infected cog just stay alive, he wouldn't just run away again, he was going to be a- SHIT.

tumbles: THE GUN!!

tumbles immediately remembered that he left the gun on the table in the living room, believing it to be an incredibly safe area. his heart sank. but that was okay! he was bursting from the basement now! he could already see a buff blur of orange/red standing near the trap door! tumbles was going to okay!!!

tumbles: FLINT-! GET TH-

flint already had the gun.

and then everything was nothing.

END OF TUMBLES POV

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

//notice: timmy riddle is now called doyle n. trouble. silly silly. in alio mundo, cerebra tua pingunt aquam

morning came all too quick for the yott escapees. prester was pleasantly surprised by the fact his head was actually placed on a pillow and not the cold hard floor. finally allowing himself to sleep really helped prester's general... aggression issues. not completely, he still was the brutal witch hunter, but sleep did help with any exhaustion/stress induced extra aggression he developed. he looked over at winston, curled up like a cat a couple feet away from him. his processors generally being sluggish due to just waking up and his muscle memory involving cats almost got him to reach out and run his hand over winston's spine. almost. almoooost.

after doyle and winston woke up as well, they all took the time to loot the theater for all it's worth. doyle found a discarded gag pouch, too, which combined with his toony nature would mean the small gang of mostly cogs would finally have access to hammerspace. they then gathered their thoughts, and decided to visit toontown central's playground for a much needed soak in the pond there. every one of them were their own degree of grungy, they could all benefit from some water being splashed on them.

after a short (and somewhat more creepy due to the corpses being much more visible in the broad daylight) walk to the playground, the gang immediately walked into the water. according to prester, it was much more "efficient" to wash both their bodies and their clothes at the same time, even if that meant theyd have to walk in sopping wet cloth later. doyle just chalked it up to him not wanting to even briefly appear exposed to potential threats, though. he did find it kinda unfair though, as winston obviously had much less that would potentially weigh them down later, just having a necktie. and, even then, winston was just sitting on a dock, barely dipping their blocky feet into the water. it was a bit confusing at first, but doyle eventually came to the conclusion that winston was apprehensive about dipping their incredibly exposed mechanical innards into water. prester looked over at them, before reaching a hand out.

prester virgil: your tie. bestow it upon me, muttonhead.

winston, a bit confused, unhooked their tie and handed it to prester. he then dipped the tie in the water, swirling around a bit to get whatever grime and dirt that built up on it over time, before using it as a rag to scrub over winston's endoskeleton. they leaned into the touch, enjoying the feeling of even the slightest hints of affection after so long. doyle looked on like he knew what they were.

winston byrd: tha-a-ank yo-you... prester virgil: i am merely doing this as to enlighten you on how you may find yourself doing this hereafter. i shalt not do this again, so please pay heed to my actions. winston byrd: oh i-i-i'm p-paying h-paying heed-eed-eed, HA HA. HA. doyle n. trouble: well, aren't you two chummy now? did something happen last night i was too busy catching up on my beauty sleep to notice? winston byrd: i-i put a pillow un-under his head! prester virgil: nothing happened of any sort you are thinking of, swine! i just woke up feeling... extra charitable this morrow.

doyle squinted at prester as he moved up to scrub the underside of winston's head, a smug grin forming on his snout.

doyle n. trouble: oh, i knew it. the brute with a secret heart of gold... and here i thought it might take a bit longer for you to open up! HA! all it took you was some "cat nap"! prester virgil: i can assure you, you know NOTHING of my brutish actions. if you knew what i did to that HOODED MUTTONHEAD back many moons ago, you would know that any "gold" in my heart is nothing but pyrite! fool's gold! winston byrd: i-i think i ate pyrite once i-in the dungeon! doyle n. trouble: yeah, yeah. yet here you are, handling them like an ANTIQ-

doyle suddenly went still, his face running pale and his eyes widened like globes.

prester virgil: well, by pure legal technicality, they ARE an antique!

doyle stayed silent, their smile immediately wiped from their face as they slowly turned to face the back left segment of the playground, at the seemingly abandoned schoolhouse. he stared at the cellar door, just BARELY propped open with... SOMETHING held between the door and its base.

doyle n. trouble: ...something is wrong...

the two cogs stayed quiet, prester wringing out the tie and hooking it back onto winston's neck. doyle squinted at whatever was propping up the celler door. once he recognized it, the pig began to yell.

doyle n. trouble: THAT'S A GUN! THAT'S A GUN! RUN! RUN!

the yott gang ran for the abandoned gag shop, shielding themselves from the bullets that never got fired at them.

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

//content warning: (fake! its just a 3d modeled cartoon!) corpse, talk of an infected cog eating a toon (and maybe other cogs), survivors guilt. this is like, kinda fucked up in a multitude of ways. sorry, flint's perspective is a horrifying perspective! wont stay buried.

flint's internal clock ticked wildly in his chest. oh my cog.

oh my cog he really just did that. he's done it time and time again but oh my cog.

flint kept the gun trained on tumbles, just in case he showed any signs of life. he had to do this. he had to do this for him. there was no other way.

even as the light faded from tumbles' eyes, as his head completely drained of ink, those pupils still were focused on flint. staring down the barrel of what was once his own gun, but turned against him. flint knew it was just the way tumbles fell, there was no soul or mind behind those eyes anymore. but still.

it never got easier.

but there was a job to do, and flint had become very familiar with that job since... well, yeah. uh, step one. loot tumbles of all he's worth.

flint grabbed the backpack from tumbles's corpse and dumped it out onto a table. weapons... medicine... bottles of water... trinkets... all stuff he could potentially use or just... use to decorate. great. great haul. he also took tumbles's sunglasses off the floor and added it to the pile. they were cute sunglasses. flint then began to steal tumbles's clothes. sure, toon clothes couldn't ever begin to fit flint or graham but they did make excellent rags. besides, graham wasn't exactly the biggest fan of chewing through cloth. the fact that he had stopped trying to eat flint's arm was proof of that... and the bite scars painting flint's arm was proof of that proof of that.

with all the gathered loot from tumbles in their respective places, flint began step two. clean the crime scene. flint propped tumbles up against the wall, in a way where he'd only continue to bleed onto himself and not onto the floor. getting the ink out of the carpet... flint couldn't tell if it was worse than getting motor oil out of the carpet. both stained it horribly, so flint has to act fast before in completely soaked into it and dried. luckily, tumbles's ink was a close match in color, so flint could afford to miss a few spots. nobody in the near future would notice a slight offshade blotch on the ground, at least not until it was far too late for them.

with that step done, it was time for flint to be the best boyfriend and move onto step three. feed. grabbing tumbles by the invisible arm, flint carried the food down the stairs again. his flames naturally lit up the dark cellar, quickly drawing the attention of graham. oh, graham. why did you have to get bit when running from the luxury suites and textiles district to the coal and ice district. why didn't you fucking tell flint. why did you think your processors could naturally fight off the disease, were you scared your leg would have to be amputated? your legs would better off be amputated now, with the state they were in. all twisted and atrophied like that, they looked more like bones than legs.

flint surveyed the last "sacrifice" he bestowed upon his boyfriend, cosmo. his shell was gone, just a skelecog now. flint tried not to think about how he knew that guy once. whatever helped keep graham from starving, whatever helped stall for another day in the frantic hopes for a cure.

flint knelt down in front of graham's crawling form, caressing his sunken in and half-torn open cheek. it'll all be over soon, i promise. someone will find a cure, someone will soon. and then they can go back to being happy as usual, and everyone will forgive flint for his crimes against both toon and suitkind... because it was a crime of love. truly. what was he meant to do? let graham die? PUT GRAHAM OUT OF HIS MISERY? what if he put graham out of his misery a day before a cure was discovered, that'd be horrible! he wouldn't. couldn't.

graham made a hollow groaning noise. flint took that as a good thing.

flint set the food down on the ground, pressed a kiss against graham's forehead, and walked back up the stairs. he tried not to listen to the tearing and frantic gulping sounds. once back up the stairs, flint closed the trapdoor and sat on top of it, trying desperately to continue to excuse all the horrible shit he did, has done, and will continue to do. the daily sob settled in.

why did i have to be immune.

[mad-doodle-disease]

flame in the snow

tumbles turned around to look at the person trying to get his attention. it was the bossbot!? tumbles quickly showed him the picture.

tumbles: i'm looking for the guy youre holding in this picture, maaaaaan... graham ness payser, right? i'm, like, from barnacle boatyard... the safehouse leader wants me to like, find him. bossbot: barnacle boatyard? which, uh... safehouse? not that it matters... tumbles: anchor avenue. bossbot: oh... uh... yeah. i know where graham is. tumbles: but, the missing post- bossbot: that's old... i, uh... found him... yeah... he chose to stay with me instead of the sellbot safehouse. tumbles: thats cool, maaaan.

tumbles began to follow the bossbot back to his shelter, an abandoned toon shop he had apparently turned into a home.

flint bonpyre: i'm flint bonpyre... i was a firestarter at c.o.g.s inc. before... yeah, heh. graham was the pacesetter. tumbles: i'm tumbles! it's a total pleasure to meet you, dude... love the whole pyro aesthetic you got going on. it's totally tubular. flint bonpyre: heh... thank you...

soon, they got back to the shelter. it was a nice place, truly it just looked like a home. it'd be easy to forget you were currently living through the end times if you just cooped yourself up in it. it did have a very odd smell to it, though, but tumbles just figured it had something to do with flint's fire.

tumbles: you have a nice place, flint! flint bonpyre: um... thanks... i try my best... graham and i spend a lot of time here and uhm... i just want it to be happy...

flint paused awkwardly for a second, before turning to walk back outside.

flint bonpyre: i'll go get graham... you can look around if you want... we worked our best to turn this happy shop into a happy home...

once flint was gone, tumbles set the gun down on a table. it would be nice looking around this place, seeing all the hard work flint put into making this place like an actual home. but, at the same time, his legs were tired... but, looking around would totally give a boost to tumbles sanity and morale.

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

bad omen

finding the sellbot in that picture would end up being a bit harder for tumbles than he was expecting. armed with nothing but a bottle of water and a handgun, tumbles made the trek back into the brrrgh, figuring that it'd be a lost cause to search for them in the boatyard. he forgot just how cold it was, last time he was crossing through it he had a bit too much on his mind to truly notice the frost biting at the tip of his beak.

tumbles almost would have missed it if he wasn't paying attention. he stopped, looking over at a nearby building. it was a pizzeria of some sort, "mozzarella styx", tumbles had ate there one time before. the food quality was... questionable, but, right now, tumbles could totally go for a "special pizza". but that wasn't what drew in tumbles attention, no no. that honor would go to the makeshift missing persons posters taped to the wall. notebook paper with cut out photos of toons and cogs alike glued to it, with details scribbled on hastily. tumbles drew in closer, recognizing one of the faces.

MISSING

Cosmo Kuiper/Plutocrat

Cashbot Cog

Last seen [2 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by the Satellite Investors.

MISSING

Sweaty Pete

Toon

Last seen [3 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by "The Blizzard Wizard".

MISSING

Hernia Belt

Toon

Last seen [5 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by "The Blizzard Wizard".

MISSING

Barry Brief/Case Manager

Lawbot Cog

Last seen [7 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by Lawbot HQ.

MISSING

Lauren Ordier

Toon

Last seen [8 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by Bumpy Bumblebehr.

MISSING

Graham Ness Payser/Pacesetter

Sellbot Cog

Last seen [10 DAYS AGO FROM CURRENT DAY] in The Brrrgh/Coal & Ice District

This paper has been put up by Sellbot HQ.

tumbles zoned in on that last paper. he pulled out the photograph he had in his pocket, comparing the face of the sellbot in it to "graham's". exact match, a pit formed in tumbles' stomach. how was he supposed to find someone thats been missing for over a week, someone that couldn't even be found by a possible actual search party of competent suits?? it was a fools errand, he was probably dead by-

???: uh... hey.

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

Oh, how tacky!

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

you caught an old boot

*plip*

*plip*

barney and tumbles' bobbers hit the water, sinking halfway into the water as the rest of the line sunk into the murky depths below. too murky to see what was down there. they chose a pier outlooking the ocean instead of a small pond. the fact that there were other places on the globe that weren't affected by the outbreak and were just having business as usual was... oddly comforting. cog nation, doodlevania, places completely unlike toontown, and places similar. all going about their daily life, without a care in the world. it gave the two toons hope that maybe, one day, this'll all be a distant memory they can laugh and make jokes about... maybe.

barney sighed, looking over at tumbles.

barney: i feel like you deserve an explanation. tumbles: explanation? barney: yes. for how... quickly, it seemed alton wanted to put you to work. he's stressed...

barney reeled in his line... barney caught a clown fish!

barney: ...he desperately wants us all to survive, but he also doesn't want to truly become... attached... to us. tumbles: oh? barney: yeah. he uh... there was an incident where one of the cogs got infected and bit a couple toons as well, one of those being freshie. he and the other guards had to... "put them down", as he so eloquently put it. the toons pleaded for their lives, despite knowing it had to be done. it hurt him. it hurt him in ways i never thought a cog could hurt, especially over toons...

tumbles reeled in his line...

tumbles caught a dog fish!

barney: alton thinks that, if he constantly puts us to work and doesn't see us often, he won't get attached. and if he isn't attached, he won't feel as bad if he has to kill us. tumbles: ...the head of the safehouse i used to stay at was, like, the exact opposite.

barney reeled in his line...

barney caught a cutthroat trout!

tumbles: he was a very extroverted guy. got to know all of us, got attached. he did put us to work but he also let us play and rest and just... have fun, maaan. barney: oh! that sounds great! why'd you leave? tumbles: ... barney: ... tumbles: i didn't... just... "leave". i didn't want to leave. it's just... i really don't want to talk about it... barney: why? tumbles: just... don't. don't ask. please.

tumbles reeled in his line...

tumbles caught a piano tuna!

tumbles: ... barney: oh, nice catch dude! those are really rare around here, normally you find those in mez-

tumbles rather roughly threw the piano tuna into his bucket, his heart racing as he was forced by a mere coincidence to remember.

barney: woah, uhh... did i hit a sore spot or something? tumbles: can you just... not mention mezzo? or pianos or... just. handle all the piano tunas for me, man.

barney raised an eyebrow, before shrugging.

barney: sure, dude. if you suspect you caught a tuna, just hand me your rod and i'll reel it in for you. tumbles: thank you.

the two toons continued to fish for a couple hours. the dock stretched far enough away from the mainland that they felt comfortable not having to look over their backs to see if any infecteds were about to attack them.

tumbles reeled in his line...

tumbles is struggling...

tumbles: this one is really heavy... barney: oh? it's probably a nice fat juicy fish, ooo...

tumbles caught a nurse shark!

tumbles: this any good? it is BIG.

barney's excited expression faded a bit, realizing it was a nurse shark.

barney: nah. throw it back. sharks, although big, don't exactly hold any nutritional value.

tumbles looked away for a moment, struggling to unhook the hook from the nurse shark's mouth without getting bit.

tumbles: maaaan, that's like... actually kind of interesting.

barney reeled in his line...

barney is struggling...

barney: yeah! in fact, eating shark meat can actually be detrimental to your health! they have a ton of mercury in them, which can make you really-

barney caught a-!

barney: AAAAAA-WHAT THE meow!?!?

barney threw his fishing rod in horror, losing it in the water. whatever he had hooked to his line sinked back into the depths, bringing the rod with it.

tumbles finally unhooked the nurse shark, letting it go before looking back over at barney, confused. all he heard was sudden screaming, he didn't get any context. barney, who was so calm and content just moments before, was now completely pale, looking as if he just saw a ghost.

tumbles: dude!? are you ok!? barney: ohmygod...ohmygod...

barney clasped his hand over his mouth, muttering incoherently to himself.

tumbles: what was that dude? what did you catch that made you lose your rod like that!?

barney quickly forced a smile, standing up rather quickly. he was twitchy, clearly violently uncomfortable.

barney: NOTHING! nothing! let's head back, we got our fish and i lost my rod. we should go back now. tumbles: but you're clearly- barney: let's. head. back.

tumbles sighed, before eventually relenting. he didn't know what barney saw, but it was clearly bad. and barney didn't want to acknowledge it at the moment. tumbles knew the feeling, so he let it go for now, he wasn't a hypocrite. the two toons grabbed their buckets containing each of their catches, before heading back to the safehouse.

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

take it to a weathered watery grave (pt 2)

barney: we did find... something... tumbles: we did? barney: ...i did. it was less of a something and more of a someone... i didn't want to worry you, tumbles, you already seemed so on edge. tumbles: ...barney- alton s. crow: what did'ya see.

barney took a step back, glancing momentarily over at mary. he knew this was going to horrify everyone. but they deserved to know. plus, he was already in too deep, he couldn't back out now.

barney: we found her.

silence.

mary anna: ...you did? where is she? barney: bottom of the ocean. mary anna: ...whAT!? barney: she couldn't be helped, she was long dead. not sure from what exactly, she was so ruste-

mary suddenly lunged at barney, grabbing him by the throat. a choked screech left barney's forcibly closed throat as the air he had been breathing in was squeezed out of him.

mary anna: WHAT DO YOU MEAN "COULDN'T BE HELPED". HOW ARE YOU SURE THAT WAS HER!? HOW CAN YOU BE SURE!? IF YOU COULDN'T EVEN TELL WHAT KILLED HER, HOW COULD YOU BE SURE IT WAS HER!?

it took 3 cogs to drag separate mary from barney. by the time they finally did, barney's face was almost completely blue from oxygen loss. tumbles just looked on in horror as barney frantically gasped for air, before holding his head in his hands. he could never catch a break.

tumbles: I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO "HER" IS!

mary anna slowly looked over at tumbles, visibly letting her shoulders relax a bit. she stayed quiet for a moment, before answering.

mary anna: ...misty. misty monsoon. my... friend. i lost contact with her once the infection worsened... im terrified she died or, worse, became one of those MONSTERS outside but... but i know she couldn't have! deep down, deeper than the ocean, deep in my heart, i know she's still out there. she's just... hiding. alton s. crow: ...mary, if the cat says he saw her dead, ya gotta accept that. ya gotta let go.

mary glared at alton. if looks could kill, mary would've murdered him.

mary anna: ...i don't even know if the girl barney fished up was her... she could still be-

mary's eyes suddenly widened, realizing what she just admitted to. it was true, barney never said who he fished up, just calling them "her". barney could've just been in shock, no... barney was CLEARLY in shock, and not answering clearly. and she, who had been thinking about misty since they first lost contact, immediately jumped to conclusions and snapped. she nearly killed the only guy who knew things. the cogs who had restrained mary slowly let her go, as she had quit being an immediate threat.

mary anna: ...oh my cod, i'm so sorry... i'm sorry... i'm so...

it took a second for barney to finally speak, his voice raspy and quiet when he finally could.

barney: don't... be... i understand... i t-think... mary anna: just... tell me. in depth, what did you sea. barney: ...i saw... not much... my brain just... immediately knew it was a... body... misty's body. i... know it was misty, mary. deep down, it was misty. mary anna: what did she look like? barney: ...face rusted off... exposed... skelecog... blue hair... soaked and flat... it was all so... blurry in the moment...

mary paused for a moment, soaking in the information like a sponge. it did sound like misty on paper, but a ton of suits had blue hair. all shysters, cold callers and short changes were built with blue hair, and some suits liked to dye their hair despite it going against company dresscode. for mary to believe that what barney fished up was misty, she would need more concrete evidence. mary immediately got an idea. there was something misty almost always wore that no other cog wore, something that wouldn't just get washed off and lost at sea like a mask.

mary anna: was she wearing?

barney paused for a moment, hitting himself in the head a couple times as if that would help him remember.

barney: i... don't know, man. i didn't pull her up high enough to get a good look at it... i just remember it was... blue? i think? mary anna: ...blue? barney: yeah, blue. a blue suit. like what lawbots usually wear... you always said misty was a lawbot, so it had to be her. mary anna: barney. barney: ...yeah?

mary's eyes twinkled with hope as she quickly hugged barney, much to the cat's confusion.

mary anna: misty doesn't wear a lawbot suit! she wears a raincoat, she always wears a raincoat! that wasn't her! misty is okay! barney: but it could've washed off in the- mary anna: oh, trust me. it couldn't have, she has that coat buttoned around her so tightly, not even a whirlpool would be able to take it from her... barney: then what did i see?! mary anna: another cog. it wasn't misty. probably a shyster, those can look a lot like her from a glance.

mary pulled away, before grabbing the buckets of fish and walking towards the kitchen with a new pep in her step.

mary anna: i'm gonna go make shore these fish are safe to eat.

she giggled a bit at her pun, before disappearing through the doorway.

barney: ...it was misty, i know what i saw was misty... mary didn't see what i saw, if she was there she'd understand... tumbles: i wish i saw it so i could back... either of you up, but i was distracted... i'm a failure... barney: you're not a failure, tumbles. you were just doing what i told you to do. alton s. crow: it couldntve been a shyster, them suits ain't ever in this district for any reason... tumbles: well, belle and i weren't originally in this district when the lockdown began. we were in mezzo. maybe the shyster was evacuating from somewhere like us and got attacked and left to die in the water.

a pause.

alton s. crow: awfully hopeful thinkin' ya got there, critter.

NEXT

[mad-doodle-disease]

take it to a weathered watery grave

the walk back was awkward and quiet, barney having lost any pep in his step as he carried the heavy bucket of fish back to the safehouse. tumbles followed closely behind, his bucket of fish, although around the same weight, feeling infinitely heavier to him due to not being a frequent fisher. occasionally, tumbles would attempt to catch up to barney, getting a good look at his face. he seemed lost in thought, his eyes glazed as he mindlessly trudged forward. tumbles knew that look all too well, if he had looked in a mirror at any time in the past few days he would've seen that look staring back at him. that was the look of someone who just saw something really really bad.

what had he seen? what did he catch? it clearly wasn't a fish, he threw his line trying to get it away from him.

barney couldn't hold onto that forever.

as the two got closer to the safehouse, tumbles felt a knot form in his stomach. he knew it was absolutely stupid to think, there's no way something so horrific could happen twice within the span of just a few days... but he couldn't help but think of the possibility that everyone was dead, killed during the span of that couple hour fishing trip.

luckily, as the two entered the entrance elevator, waited for it to scale to the main room, and stepped out, tumbles was greeted with life. a breath the kiwi didn't even realize he was holding was let go, as he handed the sopping wet bucket over to mary.

barney, however, only felt his heart sink more as he looked at mary, who stared back expecting him to hand over his own bucket of kept catches.

mary anna: are you alright? you look like you've seen something weird.

barney felt his mouth dry and stomach churn. she deserved to know but ignorance would be the only thing that would keep her sane.

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