#blue crab trap

[bogleech]

Simple lifeform facts I take for granted that I've now seen blowing people's minds on here:

That sea urchins walk around and have mouths with teeth on their undersides

That corals are related to jellyfish

Barnacles being related to crabs and shrimp

Ants being an offshoot of wasps

Termites being totally unrelated to ants and all similarities just being convergent evolution (they're actually a group of cockroaches, but even science didn't know that part until a few years ago)

Starfish having an eye at the end of each arm

That the bodies of ticks and mites are also their heads, essentially big heads with legs (they even frequently have eyes way up on "the body")

Sperm whales have no upper teeth, and also their bodies are flat from the front

Goats also having no upper (front) teeth

Tapeworms having no mouth at all and just absorbing nutrients over their entire body surface

That flies are bigger pollinators than bees

That moths are bigger pollinators than bees

That wasps are just as important pollinators as bees (more important to many groups of plants) and when we say they're "less efficient" at it we just mean individually they get a little less pollen stuck to them.

That honeybees are nonnative to most of the world and not good for the local ecosystem, just good for human agriculture

That earthworms are also nonnative and destructive to more habitats than the reverse

There being no hard biological line between slugs and snails; all slugs aren't necessarily related to each other and there are gastropod groups where some have shells and some don't

That ALL octopuses (not just the blue ring) have a venomous bite

Most jellyfish and sea anemones being predators that eat fish

"Krill" being shrimp up to a few inches long and not some kind of microbe

Blue whales therefore being the deadliest predators to ever evolve as they eat up to several million individual animals per day

That krill are still "plankton" because plankton refers to whatever animals, algae and other organisms are carried around by the sea's currents, not to any particular group of life or a size category

Fungi being no more related to plants than we are, and in fact more like a sibling to the animal kingdom if anything

Venus fly traps being native to only one small area of North America in all the world

Parasites being essential to all ecosystems

Leeches not having a circular ring of teeth anywhere

That algae is not a type of plant

That most seaweed is just very big algae

That enough wood ends up in the ocean that plenty of sea life evolved to eat only wood

Speaking of which the fact that the "ship worms" that make tunnels in wood are just long noodly clams

Butterflies technically just being a small weird group of moths we gave a different name to

That insects only get wings once they reach maximum size and therefore there can never be a younger smaller bee or fly that's not a larva

Spiders not being any more likely to kill their own mates/young than just a cat or dog might, for most species maybe a lot less often?

[phantomrose96]

I'm thinking about Tumblr Live again and ruminating on WHY it's such a huge flop and I think I've figured it out: They've completely refused to make it a tumblr feature...

By which I mean (begrudgingly goes to unsnooze Tumblr live) this:

^This is meant with zero insult or derision to the people above, but these are absolutely not Tumblr users.

Every single thumbnail I've ever seen for Tumblr live seems to say "This is for clout!" "This is for a thirst trap!" "This is for influencers!" "This is for Tiktok wannabe stars!" "This is for showing your pretty filtered face and reaping what people on Instagram and Tiktok are desperately chasing!"

I'm remembering that Reddit has (or had) livestreams you could tune into like this. I've tapped into some. Ones I remember offhand include:

a guy just wandering around downtown in his city silently showing people the streets and stuff

a guy streaming his attempt to beat the last level of Celeste

a guy streaming his dog he was petting

And that, that was Reddit. That was undoubtedly just regular Reddit users going "oh stream feature? yeah okay. here's my dog." "here's my video game." "here's my street corner in Prague."

And when I think of all the recent successful Tumblr features, they're all things that correctly tapped into actual Tumblr user interests. Blaze had people go "haha yeah here's my dog." "here's my advertisement for a horse lawyer (lawyer who is a horse)." They let us buy crabs because, fuck it, crabs. The blue checkmarks were funny. Polls turned into the fandom brackets people have desperately wanted to make for a decade+. I'd wager the merch that calls on old Tumblr memes is at least decently successful.

If Tumblr Live wanted the chance to be successful, it should have been angled toward Tumblr users. "Here, you can livestream your cat if you want." "You can livestream yourself working on some fanart and chatting." "You can livestream yourself going bird watching because birds are your hyperfixation and you can identify them all by their song to all your followers who want to tune in for bird facts."

But Tumblr Live has never tried to be that. It ONLY seems like it wants to be a Tiktok-clone, Instagram-clone, clout-chaser baited-hook trying to pull converts over from Tiktok/Insta/etc who are trying to grow their influencer brand, which Tumblr is lethally hostile to.

(And ALL of this is only touching on the concept behind what's happening here. I haven't even touched on the third-party streaming service and questionable data protection.)

Like fine, I guess I get it from a business model of trying to grow your userbase--since catering to your existing userbase doesn't pull in new meat. But this will not work. Because anyone, tumblr-native or not, trying to grow themselves as an influencer will NOT find success here. This place is not a place of honor. No highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. Nothing valued is here. What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. We will not watch your Shein haul stream.

[budbuddnbuddy]

5 weird things that you’ve eaten in the Devildom.

A/n: i thought about what foods MC might’ve eaten in the Devildom since I don’t really see it on here going into depth for any other reason than smut. (no hate to those who do, I enjoy it too)

Warnings this post includes: Freaky demon food, demon body parts , MC pulls a William Buckland ( look up what he did to a king of France), spiders with muscles, just a bunch of dumb weird shit, Mc also wears a suit, in Diavolos section, nothing super romantic happens but you can think of it as both,

5# Devil Spider Crab Sushi Roll

When Leviathan heard that you liked sushi he immediately got all giddy and excited. He was the first one out of all his brothers to try it and the first one to introduce it to the rest of them.

“Really? Leviathan being the one to introduce people to new things?” You smiled as he blushed and looked away from you, the idea of it was so rare that you couldn’t help but be an asshole about it.

“Hey! I’m a shut in not a gatekeeper! Now are you gonna try it or not?!” He practically shoved the wooden chopsticks into your chest and you took a minute to glance down at the odd looking sushi that was still trapped in it’s container.

It was wrapped in the same way regular sushi would be wrapped. Rice,seaweed, more rice. It was just the main ingredient that made you hesitant.

3 gigantic spiders legs poking out through the middle of all 7 pieces of sushi.

If Levi hadn’t told you that those were spider legs you probably would’ve thought they were crab legs that’s how red they were,but that was just the meat of the Devil Spider Crab, the fact that they were big enough to muscle and bone in their legs made you want to almost throw up.

Using your chopsticks you pluck one of the sticky pieces of sushi out of the container and raise it to your face. Sniff sniff. “Doesn’t smell like anything weird…” That’s always a good sign right? You almost place the sushi in your mouth until-

“WAIT!!!”

You tilted your head as Levi set down small bowl of bubbling hot blue sauce. Sniff Sniff. It had a strong sweet smell, but you don’t remember seeing anything similar to this in the store where you guys bought the sushi in…

“uhh….this kind of Sushi can be kinda dry….s-s-so I made some dipping sauce for you!!! I didn’t even have to alter it because all the ingredients are totally human friendly!” You couldn’t help but smile at Leviathan’s thoughtful. He really went out of his way to make sure everything could be enjoyed safely huh?

Taking up your chopsticks with the piece of sushi in its clutches you dunk it in the still bubbling sweet blue sauce, blow on it in an attempt to cool it off, before giving up and just shoving the entire thing in your mouth.

Crunch!

Leviathan watches it all with intensity, watching as you crunch of the legs of the spider, shoving the legs that poke out into your mouth before swallowing it all.

“S-so….what do you think?”

Placing a finger to your chin and staring at the floor with a hardened gaze while attempting to put the flavors together.

“Hmm…..tastes like honey barbecue chicken.”

Not really the reaction he was looking for but hey, at least you liked the sauce!

4# Hellfire Zombie Body Ramen LIMITED EDITION FLAVOR

“Holly shit! MC! Come check this out!” It was about two in the morning. You and Mammon were at a gas station a few blocks down from the HOL. It was an obviously a bad idea to be out so late on a school night but honestly when did you ever go through with your refusals to Mammon anyway?

You shuffle over to where Mammon was excitedly pointing at, a flavor of his favorite brand of ramen came into view, one that you never seen before…

“Is that a new flavor? I’ve never seen that in the grocery store we go to…” You squint your eyes at the green packaging. ‘Hellfire Zombie Body Ramen: LIMITED EDITION!!! SPICE: XXXX’ There was even a picture of a Zombie on the front.

“Thought they stopped sellin’ these but the gas station has been loaded wit em all this time! Ain’t that right Belial?”

The Demon cashier slowly blinked as you glanced down at his name tag, sure enough it said “Belial.”

“…yes.” Man if there was one thing that the Devildom and the human world had in common it would probably be their retail workers hate for their jobs.

After about twenty ish minutes, the two of you snuck your way into the kitchen to prepare for your midnight snack. Once it was finished, you had a styrofoam cup filled with the ramen that you had recently bought.

“Tada! Enjoy!” You take a look at the ramen for the first time. The noodles were a dark bloody red to represent intestines, a few specks of brain and some teeth were scattered around in the broth, finally when you poked the noodles around to inspect some more you saw a big yellow eyeball hidden in the noodles, something that you promptly handed over to Mammon’s cup.

“Hmm…” After some poking prodding, you finally take your fork and twist it around some of the noodles. Raising the steaming red strings of intestines to your nose to give it a sniff. Sniff sniff….ugh gross and smells slightly….burnt?

Whatever, you thought while deciding to just bite the bullet and take a chomp full of the zombie ramen…before spitting it back into the cup again.

COUGH COUGH HACK! “Oi! D-don’t go dying on me!” Mammon practically teleports to your side and rubs your back as you cough up a storm.

Cough! “…It’s-“ hack! cough! “burnt AND sour!” Pushing away the cup, you grab the glass of water Mammon offers to you with a guilty, shameful look in his face.

“…I might’ve been on my phone for a little too long while those were in the microwave….heh” HE PUT THEM BOTH IN AT THE SAME TIME? “a-and it was super rotten flesh flavor! S-so the sour part ain’t my fault!”

Mammon then grabs his cup and takes a fork full before taking a big bite out of his own ramen….before spitting it back into the cup as well…

“Eugh…that DOES taste like ass…”

3# SUPER CUTE KITTY MEW MEW PUDDING

You and Satan stared down in awe at the plate that was set in front of you by your waitress.

“Your ‘Super Cute Kitty Mew Mew Pudding’ with extra ‘Cute Kitty Kitty Mew Mew sugar drizzle’….Lord Satan and….human master.” The waitress then grumbled about putting in her two week notice as more cats started surrounding your table.

“…It’s perfect”

“Marvelous….”

“A grace to this realm…”

“How could something ever be this glorious…?”

The two of you are, of course, talking about the giant massive portion of wiggling cat shaped pudding. It had everything on the head of a cat, two giantic ears, 8 whiskers, a big triangle nose and two adorable big eyes-

“Mew!”

and it was alive.

The two of you spent hours cooing and gushing over the Kitty pudding. Feeding it mapple syrup and sugar packs while one of the chefs goes on a tirade about how he’s ’Sick of his job.’ and ‘refuses to make another damn cat pudding for grown ass people.’ Oh yeah that’s right, about a good 70% of the people surrounding you had their own cute cat pudding and were happily munching away at it.

But not you and Satan no no no.

…Well, at least not yet. You had to get attached first!

So about 30 minutes before closing, you can Satan scooped up a massive ear of the kitty pudding and tap the ends of your spoons together.

Click!

“Cheers to cat cafes?” He smiled as you smiled warmly right back at him, glad that you approved of his new use of human lingo.

“To cat cafes!”

The pudding itself wasnt particularly all that special, but it wasn’t about the taste it was about the effect. Once you chewed the pudding into little bits the kitty just multiplied into even more tiny kitties, now your mouth was filled with meowing tiny kittens!

“This is heaven…”

“Indeed”

2# RAD CAFETERIA FOOD.

Quietly standing on the lunch line you watch as the goblin women in front of you, green skin, red lipstick, with a cigarette in her mouth, scoop up a large amount of dark purple slop and raise it up towards you slightly.

“Move ova ya tray.” She says bluntly in a deep raspy voice probably due to all the smoking she’s done. You do as you are told, shakily holding out your tray as she plopped the mush of dark purple slop right down in the biggest section of your tray.

“T-thank you ma’am…” Her face lights up for a second after you give your gratitude, before she slams down another big portion of purple bullshit on your tray again…mostly likely a reaction from your manners. Seems like the staff here aren’t exactly used to that…

You take a seat next to Beelzebub after paying for your food, by the looks of it he was on his 7th tray, staring intensely at it.

Munch Munch Chew “You gonna-“ gulp “finish that?” Guess the uncertainty on your face was too obvious.

“The lunch lady on line 9 gave me extra…I’m not sure if i should eat it but I don’t wanna be rude…” You continue to stare at your plate while looking back at the goblin lady who was still serving a very long line of hungry RAD students.

“You mean Ms.Pruin?” Beel questions as he slides over his next plate. “She’s the best cook in RAD, her food is really good. You should give it a try.”

You look over at the goblin lady, now Ms.Pruin, once again, still working tirelessly serving hungry students but every now and then glancing over at your direction with a hopeful look in her eye.

Well…if Beel says it’s the best, it’s gotta at least be somewhat okay, right. With that you take your spoon and scoop up a portion of the purple slop and stick it right into your mouth.

Munch munch munch

You brace yourself for a wave of overwhelming foreign flavors, something nasty, something that would numb your tongue right out your mouth, something-

Huh?

“Wait…there’s no flavor!” You stared at your spoon in confusion before taking some more bites out of the slop. Nothing.

“Really? Let me see.” Beel takes your spoon from you and pops a large portion into his mouth, munching on it carefully before swallowing it all down before putting a finger to his chin…then his face lights up.

“The original recipe has an ingredient that’s deadly to humans, angels, and even some demons. She must have taken it out and given you a modified version of the dish.”

You smiled wildly to yourself before gobbling up the rest of your tasteless lunch with glee and from that day, you made sure to always get your lunch from Line 9.

1# Demon Heart.

You sat from across Diavolo at the table outside in the large gazebo in the middle of the pond. Glistening clear water so still surrounds the two of you. Schools of fish circling around you constantly, the trees droop down and sway with the wind, flowers of all different colors are scattered all around the two of you. Just the two of you.

You unconditionally straightened your tie as Diavolo stares at you, elbows set down right on the edge of the edge, resting his chin on the back of his hands, staring. Deeply and lovingly.

“I cannot express enough to you enough how happy I am that you accepted my invitation.” You sigh, glad that he was the one to break the tense silence.

“No problem Lord Diavolo, I mean I don’t think anyone would turn down the opportunity to come to a place like this. It’s gorgeous.” You look around some more, taking in all the details as you were sure that you wouldn’t be coming back here anytime soon.

“I’m sure after that long day at RAD as well as that car ride, that you must be starving yes?” You nodded, Diavolo has asked you not to eat lunch after you agreed to his invite.

“I’m glad. I have a surprise for you.” As soon as he said that, Barbatos as well as some other staff members of the Demon Kings Castle, two hidden dishes are set in front of you both. His is revealed while yours stays in front of you. Some fancy looking meat and strange looking vegetables on the side, drizzled over the meat was bright blue sauce.

“The food looks amazing.” It looked like something you’d see in a five Michelin star restaurant, the fact that he got to eat things like that every single day whenever he wanted was a concept that you were still struggling to comprehend, even after all the time you’ve known him.

“Yours is something much grander. I promise.” With those words, he moves over your plates and take your hands into his own. Looking at you with full sincerity.

“MC…by now you know of my dream for all three realms, peace, equality, and prosperity for all.” You watch as frowns in shame after he spoke.

“However…give our past with eating humans in various ways, myself included,I feel as if that it would be right to set things even. An eye for an eye.”

You squint at him, what was he saying? Did he mean what you really think he means? There’s….there’s no way he actually….

Before you could even form another thought the your dinner plate was revealed, and you could stop your head from looking down.

“…huh?”

A big, brownish, reddish, demon heart laid in the middle of your plate, right in front of you, cleaned and prepared for your consumption.

He was literally letting you eat his heart to atone for his past.

“You don’t have to eat it, I would never force you to do something. However do know that I have more where that came from, I’m sure it’ll grow back eventually.” While you only really heard bits and pieces of that due to the fact that you were still in shock, you got the message.

“….MC?” Finally you relaxed your shoulders and calmed down, before a smile came on your face as you looked at Diavolo.

“I’ve eaten many strange things before in this world. But I’ve never eaten the heart of a future demon king before.”

And before he could get another world in, you sliced up the heart and gobbled it all up, bite by bite by bite. It tasted like human world meat….which kind, you weren’t exactly sure,more like all of them at once but you were sure about one thing.

“How does it taste?”

You grin widely.

“Tastes like home.”

[majosullivan]

Castle Swimmer Dashboard Simulator

🪸 classycoral Follow

If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt while traveling the sea, it’s that prophecies can really range from being the silliest of tales to the most horrific things you will ever of having the dismay of laying your eyes on

🪸 classycoral Follow

Like I’ll visit one castle and their prophecy will be ‘It’s been destined that the beacon will use this frog to predict the future so we can prepare for it :)’ and then the next castle I visit will have a prophecy like ‘It is been foretold from centuries past that the beacon shall arrive and save us from a plague that has been taunting us since ancient time. Through sacrifical ritual, they shall free us from this torment’

#like who is coming up with these #are you guys doing okay???

154,879 notes

💧 oceaneyes Follow

I heard there’s hot singles at the bottom of the God Mouth

⚜️ minigod-fucker Follow

out of the way boys I’m about to GET IT

⚜️ minigod-fucker Follow

got trapped in unending darkness surrounded by voices

9,264 notes

🪷 through-the-reef Follow

I’m currently traveling through the Purple Peaks and it’s absolutely gorgeous here! I have no idea why there seems to be so few people living here, it seems wonderful!

🪷 through-the-reef Follow

GIANT CRAB, GIANT CRAB, GIANT CRAB-

13,521 notes

✨ give-that-axolotl-a-knife Follow

Does anyone else feel like the surface god is just toying with you how they please. They think they’re so funny. Well I’m about to be hilarious

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

this feels so threatening, are you doing okay op?

24,957 notes

🌊 squids Follow

Being alive is so wonderful because there is so many beautiful places in the ocean you can explore and so many fascinating creatures you can see. However there are also the unending horrors

6,496 notes

🖼️ ocean-landscapes Follow

The Blue Hills

832 notes

💰 needling-on Follow

GUYS I MIGHT BE GOING INSANE BUT I’M CURRENTLY OUTSIDE TRAINING AND I SWEAR I JUST SAW ONE OF THE RULERS AT MY CASTLE GO FLYING OUT THE CASTLE WINDOW

💰 needling-on Follow

NOT INSANE, A GROUP OF HIS PEOPLE JUST CAME SWIMMING OUT CALLING AFTER HIM, OH MY GOD I CAN’T BREATH

💰 needling-on Follow

UPDATE: THEY’RE COMING BACK WITH HIM NOW AND HE MUST HAVE FALLEN INTO A SCHOOL OF PRETTY VICIOUS FISH CAUSE HE’S COVERED IN BITE MARKS AND THERE’S STILL ONE BITING HIM. I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING TO CRACK A RIB

284,047 notes

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

Alright guys which mini god from the ones y’all know about do you think you could take

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

IN A FIGHT IN A FIGHT IN A FIGHT

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

Blocked blocked blocked. None of you are seeing the light of the surface

69,638 notes

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

Life is so fucking unfair cause kelp dragons are SO beautiful and magnificent and enchanting and I would do ANYTHING to get up close to or even pet one, but the moment one would see me they would immediately try to swallow me whole like a shrimp

#they’re so pretty and for what #AND FOR WHAT?! #I just want to give them a little kiss on top of your head… #is that too much to ask?

2,749 notes

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

THE BEACON IS TWENTY???

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

THEY SHOULD BE AT THE CLUB…

💧 oceanxeyes Follow

h

HUH?

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

I’m sorry, the beacon is WHAT?

🫧 bubbly-bubbles Follow

🪸 classycoral Follow

No because like my castle’s prophecy is nearing 200 years old and I’ve met a ton of people whose prophecies are over twice that age. How in the name of the Surface God are they only 20?

🌱 seaweed-brains Follow

Okay this post just unlocked some long dormant memories in my brain and if I don’t talk about it with someone outside my castle I think I’ll lose my mind so you guys better be sitting down.

For some context: until around 7-8 years ago, my people were under almost constant threat of these giant sea snakes because they had unknowingly killed the head of their den. Savage things. Would take any opportunity to attack us. We couldn’t even find a new castle cause they would follow us everywhere. Because of all this, our elders ended up creating a prophecy, which stated that the Beacon would eat the carcass of the head snake, causing the rest of the sea snakes to leave us alone.

So when I was like 13, the Beacon had arrived at our castle to fulfil our prophecy, and as you can expect, we were all very excited and I remember trying to get to the front of the crowd as fast as possible to see them. They were like nothing I have ever seen before and have seen since, we all were in complete awe of them. However, the thing about them that ended up surprising me the most was that they were young. Like, pretty damn young. They looked a little younger than me. So while our monarch quickly went to make sure all the preparations were complete, they entrusted my parents with making sure the Beacon was comfortable, giving my family the opportunity to have small chat with them. Curiousity getting the better of me, I asked how old they were. 13. They said they’re 13 years old. They were MY age. I didn’t know what to do at that point and basically throughout the entire time our prophecy was being completed, my mind was just stuck thinking about if I was destined to eat that giant smelly snake

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

Ex

EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME???

🎼 beautifulabyss Follow

WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

I need a whole day to fully process that prophecy alone what in the actual fuck

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

Did…

…did they eat the snake carcass?

🌱 seaweed-brains Follow

THE WHOLE THING…

🫧 bubbly-bubbles Follow

🪸 classycoral Follow

and people still think I was exaggerating about how wild prophecies are. How in the entire sea does being attacked by sea snakes lead to the Beacon needing to eat a giant carcass? Who is coming up with these solutions? Show me their workings

💧 oceanxeyes Follow

The Beacon arriving at another castle to help people fulfil their prophecy, only to find that it’s another one written by freaks:

🐚 sandyshells Follow

t

th

…the beacon is real?

🔱 poisedposeidon Follow

🌺 lesbiankelp Follow

HELLO?

🌫️ surface-and-beyond Follow

Sandy get back here right now what do u MEAN you didn’t know the Beacon was real???

🐚 sandyshells Follow

MY PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS SAID THE BEACON WAS JUST PART OF ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY…we were always told growing up that prophecies and the lot were just stories and such. You’re telling me that there’s actually a divine being going around helping people by eating snakes and stuff???

🌫️ surface-and-beyond Follow

Y E A H

🐚 sandyshells Follow

WHAT THE HELL

♠️ mistressofthedarkseas Follow

This whole post is a mess holy shit

498,690 notes

[binah-beloved]

Decay Amidst the Seafoam

Queequeg x Reader Mermaid AU Pronouns: Gender Neutral Warnings: Description of injuries

~ * ~

There’s froth on the waves today. That’s good. It means you can see the water’s color, a deep blue rather than fog and gray flecks. It’s temperamental, the ocean. Always, even on the brightest of days and the clearest of nights, it rages just beneath the surface. You’ve learned to love it in a way, nurture rather than fight its unrelenting anger like so many of your crewmates. It’s more peaceful that way. More grateful, the both of you. No matter where you went or what you did, you were always drawn back to the sea in the end, the waves tugging at your feet and thoughts. So you board a ship headed for the end of the world, in pursuit of the whales and stingrays and jellyfish. Where it’s going isn’t important. You’re happiest with the breeze in your hair and the smell of salt in the air. There’s nowhere better than here, despite the distance and lonesome days.

Fishing is commonplace. Nets and hooks and harpoons to catch and kill even the strongest beasts. Although those creatures are rarely seen- the traps fill mostly with ordinary fish and crabs to be sold at various docks and shores. Occasionally a fish will be too small, those are the ones you like the most. The tiny, writhing things you cup in your hands and slip back into the ocean, to grow and live and thrive. They wriggle once they hit the water, splashing over your fingers and disappearing through the murky waves, and you smile, waving goodbye. Goodbye, goodbye, farewell. Live happy and free. The sound of yelling and shouts reaches your ears, a morning with the sun high in the sky. For a moment you barely spare a glance, busily knotting ropes together, but the commotion increases and heightens and jabs at your senses until you clap your hands down and rise to your feet, blocking out the noise with your palms. A coworker rushes and tugs on your arm, yanking you in the direction of the horrid din. It’s loud and awful and you hate it, but there’s a crowd surrounding one of the nets whispering about how they don’t want to deal with it, make you deal with it.

You’re pushed forward and come face-to-face with a very trapped, livid sea monster. A mermaid- maybe, that would be the right term. You’re not sure. Siren, perhaps? Whatever the word, the poor creature thrashes and struggles, her long tail tangled and jerking in the tight grip of the net. She growls viciously at you and everyone, a low, threateningly guttural sound, but there’s blood on her face and valleys of crushed scales where the ropes wrap around her and you can’t help but approach, holding your hands up where she can see them. A spark of fear flashes through her eyes, all brown and gold and narrow, but she bares her teeth and hisses deeper, ragged fins flaring in sharp lines. You sigh, turning and shooing the rest of the crew away with a quick motion. They stare in disbelief, more worried about their potential catch, and you give them a steely look that sends them scampering and trickling away until it’s just you. Just you and an angry, scared mercreature.

Perhaps your captain wasn’t lying when she called you an excellent candidate for successor. The sea beast shuffles away from you when you look back, pressed against the rail of the ship. Her chest rises and falls, too quickly, and slowly you kneel and sit on the deck, hands upturned. She’s taller when you’re sitting. Overall, too, her long tail curled in coils of dark green scales. You don’t mention the tattoos and scars littering her body, the claws that lash out and graze your skin; fixing your gaze with hers, you sit a little ways away and speak quietly. “I’m not going to hurt you. I need to get close to help, alright?”

It does little to curve the fear in her eyes, but her talons curl into her webbed hands and she sits, silently, watching your every move. You try not to stare. Really, you try. You focus on the ropes and net, the stains of blood against algae and beige. But your gaze still contains a hint of awe as you gingerly unwind her fins, meticulous around the crushed scales until you finally pull and toss the net to the side. A soft, relieved sound escapes her, a combination of a sigh and a whimper, and for a moment longer the mermaid observes you with a piercing stare, almost curious as her breaths slow and steady. Then she shakes out her dark braids and bows her head slightly to you, leaping over the side and back into the sea without a word. Droplets of water hit your face, and you blink and sit in shock with the world quiet all around you apart from the distant cries of the gulls.

The sun begins to set in fiery orange and pink. It’s replaced by deep twilight and stars, and the ship sails onward. Goodbye, goodbye, farewell. I hope I see you again. The next night is met with cold winds and clouds, all the rabble packed away in the cabins while you tidy up outside. The ropes are rough and twined. You’re used to it. There are constellations of calluses on your palms and a few on your arms. They’re like tiny treasures, gemstones that don’t sparkle but rather help you grip your tools, the harpoons and knives and hammers and screwdrivers around the ship. The boat rocks, once, and you continue neatly wrapping the ropes you braided together. You hear a splash somewhere from behind, then a thud. It’s not quiet, louder than when an unfortunate bird accidentally flies directly into the mast. A pair of familiar brown-gold eyes meet your own and you automatically stumble back from a cold jolt of surprise.

The merbeast’s ears flick when you fall into a sit, pointed and webbed with a dark green tinge, just like her scales, her long tail draped messily over the railing. All you can do is sit, mouth slightly open, as she slowly shifts and inches towards you, tilting her head. Her tail slithers almost like a snake, the fins torn, riddled with holes and approaching you cautiously from across the deck until she’s only a foot or so away. She’s still taller. Looming over you, gaze sharp and keenly aware. You don’t dare move- there are two outcomes, one ending in her fear and the other ending in your blood being spilled. Neither sound appealing. So instead you simply stare at each other, even though your wrists are beginning to burn from how your hands are bent against the deck. The creature’s ears twitch once more, and light as a feather her tail fin brushes against one of your legs before withdrawing again.

You blink. She blinks. Slowly you raise a hand and give her a cautious wave, and she mimics the gesture, fingers much stronger than your own. You can’t help how your lips curve into a small, genuine smile, and the mermaid’s dark eyes glint with something curious and satisfied. She returns the next evening. And the next. And the next, the wounds from that dreaded net healing day by day. Always at night, and always when everyone else has gone off to bed, with the same splash and thump. For a bit you think she might be scoping out you as a potential meal, but she only sits by you and watches intently. Whatever you do, whether it’s work or rope weaving or something calm like reading, she stares and observes. She doesn’t directly touch you- not for a while, apart from light grazes from her tail and hair, merely drawing ever so slightly closer with each visit. Sometimes you’ll idly talk to her and she listens in silence. You ask her lighthearted questions, and she tips her head with no response. It’s alright. Her presence alone is oddly comfortable, and gradually her stiff posture relaxes until her braids often drift over your skin.

You ask her what her name is, every day, and she says nothing until a week and one night have passed. “Queequeg.” Her voice is quiet and deep and initially you think you imagined it. But she repeats the word firmly and follows it by very gently nudging her head against your shoulder. “Queequeg.” That evening her tail curls lightly around you, and you see her smile, and it’s small and warm and safe.

Queequeg seems to have deemed you the same, habitually wrapping herself more and more around your body each day until she’s practically snuggling with you, entirely unashamed. She still doesn’t talk much, preferring to hear your voice instead, but when she does it’s soft and careful, like her mouth isn’t used to the words. You’re allowed to touch her as well, running your fingers over her scales and webbed hands and ears, the ropes knotted around her arms and wrists, and when you reach her cheek Queequeg’s eyes close and she nuzzles into your palm with a subtle purr. And she does the same to you, cupping your face in her claws and bumping her forehead against yours, pressing the tip of your noses together.

Her eyes shine with some sort of tender delight, and you can’t help but smile back. Her favorite resting place is your lap, her head pressing to your legs as you idly fiddle with her long braids. She did them herself, she tells you with a hint of pride, even the gold cuffs, and you hum as she lightly bites and nibbles your fingers, leaving faint indents behind. “You’re silly,” you mumble to her, rubbing a thumb beneath her eyes. Silly and sweet and gentle for such a ferocious, intimidating creature. She simply bares her sharp teeth at you without a hint of malice, the stars coming out up above.

Queequeg loves the sunset and the stars. They make fiery colors and silver in her hair and eyes, across her glinting scales. She watches the sky, and you watch her with all your attention. You do your best to recount any stories of constellations you’ve heard to her, even if you’ve forgotten. There are stories from her, too, whispered in halting sentences as she grips her arms, digging at the tattoos she despises. The scars speckled across her dark skin become clearer, more vivid, but she clasps your hands in hers and meets your eyes with a firm stare. “Listen. I tell you. Trust you.” You suck in a breath, only able to nod, and she brings your hands up and holds them to her forehead, then her lips.

She calls you hers on that chilly evening, ears lowering in a rare show of nervousness. But you just lean up and kiss her forehead, Queequeg’s breath catching as she cuddles insistently closer to you. The ship doesn’t feel so lonesome anymore, not with a constant friend beneath the waves. Your crewmates wonder and ask how you went from quiet and withdrawn to happy overnight. Still quiet, but happy. And you just shrug with a laugh, that you don’t really know, and they clap you on the shoulders and laugh along with you. They don’t have to know. They’ve all forgotten the peculiar sea monster in the net, by now. You and Queequeg are each other’s special secret.

One day you encounter a whale and it sends everyone into a tizzy. It rips the sky and sea apart, the lightning illuminating the pouring, drenching rain as you and your coworkers scramble to right the ship and not be swallowed by foam and saltwater. It’s loud, so horribly loud, and you wish Queequeg was here to hold you tightly against her chest and block out the noise. Your captain hollers for you to get away, the madness gleaming in her eyes sending a strike of fear into your bones where it sits and settles to corrode. The moment the ship flees from the whale, the storm tapers off into a steady drizzle, a few stains of blood across the deck yet no one worse for wear as gray clouds blanket overhead. That night, Queequeg is nowhere to be found.

You fret, unable to stop yourself. You’ve always worried, been a worrier, and Queequeg is yours. She’s yours, and you’re hers. You spend hours pacing the deck, snapping your head towards the water at any noise only to be met with disappointment, unable to sleep. She doesn’t reappear the next night. Or the ones after that. Your crewmates observe your lethargy and dampened mood with concern, always giving you something to do or work on. In a way, you’re grateful. It distracts you from the hollow, nauseating pit in your stomach. Perhaps they know that, too. Days pass into weeks, into months. Still, no Queequeg. Maybe, you think while choking back tears, she left and forgot about you. Maybe she realized you’re too different. In your loneliest moments, you unearth your last shred of hope and dream otherwise. Goodbye, goodbye, farewell. I miss you.

The wind bats your face, crisp and fresh and smelling like the sea you’ve always loved as your shoes hit the deck, a length of rope in your hands. It’s practice, you say to the others. A special knot you learned from someone. You never tell them who, exactly, but they agree it’s the sturdiest knot that’s been tied. The rope you carry is new, just braided, and the waves splash as you absentmindedly study the new calluses on your skin. Something tackles you, sending your body flying and colliding hard against the wood. You groan in pain, head spinning. An equally distressed growl reaches your ears.

That something is on top of your prone body, draped across and covering almost every inch. It’s long with dark scales, but covered in a horrid white membrane, spreading like veins. Your captain calls it Pallidification. It comes from that whale and eats away at the body and mind, slowly, until you devolve into nothing but a hungry, empty thing. But it’s a familiar face; familiar eyes, familiar ropes now practically fused to the body, familiar braids even though they’re stuck together by pale muck.

Queequeg stares down at you, breathing heavily. Her eyes are wide, pupils dilating and claws holding your shoulders in a vice grip before she abruptly pulls you even closer and holds you tight. A pitiful whine slips from her mouth and cracks your heart in two, her voice garbled and incoherent except for one word. Your name. Which she repeats over and over, holding your cheeks and crying. You, you, you- it’s all she says, pressing close and ignoring your stunned and terrified coworkers. Queequeg coughs, violently, the pallid membrane having engulfed her throat, and buries her face into your shoulder, trembling. All you can do is hug her back, running a hand over her spine, trying not to sob yourself. She shudders under your delicate touch, desperately digging her claws into your clothes with broken croons and gasps; small, quiet, heart wrenching noises.

One brave crewmate takes a step closer, and Queequeg’s fins flare as she whips around and snarls at him. They all back away with a whisper, a few running off to find the captain, but Queequeg’s attention has returned to you and you alone, nudging your hand pleadingly with tears tracking down her features. They’re blurred and warped from the Pallidification, the tattoos she so hated and the scars you spent hours tracing over vanishing as the white tissue consumes her, slowly. She still leans into your palm when you caress her face, gripping you with unspoken words.

Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

The rest of the crew disperses to search for the captain, to capture this strange pallid creature. It’ll lead them toward the whale, the whale they’ve begun pursuing ever since the captain laid eyes upon it. Then the voyage will be over. Everything will end. So they leave you with the monster behind on the deck- it acts oddly docile when it’s focused on only you- to knock against the captain’s door, smelling the smoke from her pipe. It, it, it. They call her an it. Your arms tighten as you frown.

Queequeg slumps in your arms, twining her tail around your leg. The dark green scales you love are coated in white, chewing away at her from the inside out. She used to put her chin atop your head. Now she bumps under your jaw, curling into a tight coil and trying to cling to you, trying to become smaller and disappear because it hurts, everything hurts and she couldn’t get to you and when she finally opened her eyes again you were gone. Now she barely remembers anything other than the pallid, the pallid and the pain and you, you, always you. You alone kept her marginally sane. Don’t leave. Please, don’t leave, don’t make her leave. She nuzzles against your collarbone with an exhausted sigh, fiddling with your hand until she carefully laces your fingers with her webbed ones.

She needs to go, now, or the captain will arrive with her chains and mad grin. But she refuses to. Not without you. Never without you, not again. Queequeg glances between you and the ocean, tugging on your arm. She lets out another pleading noise, hollow and echoing like whalesong. You- she’s only safe with you. It’s not safe for you here, not anymore. Those people were looking at you, like you were something to be dealt with. It’s not safe.

You hesitate again, and Queequeg’s eyes soften at the splinters of fear in your expression. Her hand cups the back of your head, pallid claws settled gently on your hair as she guides you towards her and tenderly presses her lips against yours. A purr hum through her chest when she pulls away, the sound unsteady and weaker than the last time you heard it. But it’s there and her hand is on your cheek and Queequeg leans in to bump her forehead against yours, one of her braids coming free of the pale membrane.

“Mine.” You’re hers, and she’s yours. A peculiar, loving pair. By the time the crew returns with the captain in tow, nothing remains but a few veins of white infection and the crashing turbulence of foamy sea waves. Goodbye, goodbye. Farewell. 

[1218-814]

Floyd's Nickname Analysis

We all know that they can be correlated to how they look or act, but what if they were also actions or personality traits that each person has?

Riddle- "goldfish" or "kingyo"

He's red (Trigger for Floyd). He feels bad that Riddle is trapped in a "fishbowl" and hopes for him to explore the ocean. Can get violent, unlike what he seems (goldfish eat other fish; they can be at the top of the food chain depending on what fish you consider)

Ace- "crab" or "kani"

He's spiky and red (hair and personality-wise). Eels eat them; they are great prey for them (like in the 3rd arc, with the contracts)

Deuce- "mackerel" or "saba"

Mackerels are called "blue-backed fish", which spoil easily (In Japanese it can be translated to "Fast legs". Mixed with his track/field club). In France, I think, April Fools can be called April Fish day. Mackerels can be caught a lot in April. He is kind of... Stupid (Fool)

Cater- "snapper" or "hanadai" (This is from the wiki, which is correct, but I'll explain why I can't translate this correctly)

I can't translate his name because there isn't an actual fish; there are tons of fish that are called hanadai (just to name a few; akaobihanadai, sujihanadai, nagahanadai), kind of like a sub-family (different personalities). He is the only one so far who has a more vague nickname.The ones I think about have a tall nose, which reminds me of Pinocchio, whose nose gets taller the more they lie. They are pretty though.

Some of them are called “sea goldies” (a clue about how he could have been ex-dorm leader)

They eat shrimp... Maybe one day he'll hurt us

Trey- "sea turtle" or "umi kame"

They're smart, and they can also go on land (Secret?). He's the father of Hearts, and turtles and Disney remind me of a certain sea turtle in the Nemo series. And I think turtles are smart (glasses maybe?)

Leona- "Todo" or "Sea Lion"

As it's called, he is a lion. Sea lions can go on land... I wonder if he knows something outside of the ocean (Twisted Wonderland)..? Reminds me of Grim in a way.

Ruggie- "sharksucker" or "kobanzame"

He's always with Leona, like them with sharks. They eat scraps, and look out for a chance to strike, like for food.

Jack- "sea urchin" or "uni"

He's spikey with his hair. He's different than he appears; Sea urchins look inedible, but they are rich and creamy. I mean rich as with knowledge and mild as in personality in his case. And he is from the north, where I think good sea urchins are harvested. I wonder if the orange has anything to do with his dorm color. I can't say this for sure, but rich as in money.

Jamil- "sea snake" or "umihebi"

He's a snake. And like one, he is pretty, but with poison. I wonder if Floyd knows about the snakes' hint in the mirror. Anyways, I think Floyd thinks Jamil is similar to Jade (Sea snakes can be mistaken for eels sometimes)

Kalim- "Sea Otter" or "Rakko"

I wonder if his hair was brown, and not white... They are gourmets and can't eat without their favorite rock (Jamil). And he is hunted down because he is rich... (Sea otters were hunted down for their pellets). The turban reminds me of the seaweed they wrap around.

Epel- "guppy"

Not good with bettas, and loose to them. They are sensitive with temperature; Epel get heated up sometimes and is usually cool (faking his personality)

Vil: "Betta"

They get tired after flaring too much (overblot; with the issue with Neige). Really pretty, and aggressive. Not good with mirrors because of this (Mira with Vil)

Rook: "black-tailed gull" or "umineko"

He's in the sky, compared to the ocean. They can get wild and fast when they want. He's also a hunter (they hunt fish). He also has cat eyes. (they are literally called sea cats in japanese)

Idia- "firefly squid" or "hotaruika"

They glow like his hair. That's all I can say as for now

Ortho- "sea angel" or "clione"

He is an angle, but they can change rapidly with their looks to be quite... terrifying.

Malleus- "Nudibranch" or "Umiushi"

He's kind of cute with his personality, actually, he's more fluffy than cute though. They have something that looks like 2 horns.

Lilia- "flapjack octopus" or "mendako"

Like Azul, he is strong, unlike his looks. His hair reminds me of a flapjack octopus.

Silver:"jellyfish" or "kurage"

They're usually kind of white. They can hurt a lot when they attack. Unlike the people in his dorm, he is human so his life expectancy is short compared to them.

Sebek- "crocodile" or "wani"

Probably a reference to Sobek, the Egyptian god. He does remind us of a crocodile/alligator; he eats a lot, his phase in battle, etc.

The ones he adds -kun to (Cater, Jamil, Rook, Sam, and Trey) are a bit... troublesome in some way. I think Floyd sees Twisted Wonderland as the Ocean if you couldn't tell, so if they can go on land, they either know something or correlated in some way to MC/the lands beyond it. 

~~~~

I was told to bring this post back by someone... But this is how I think

But Floyd is a lot more observant than most ppl think, and I will post something about that soon

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

Red-Belted Clearwing

Synanthedon myopaeformis

Image Source

The red-belted clearwing is a part of the family Sesiidae. It was first described in 1789 by Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen as Sphinx myopaeformis. This was later changed to Synanthedon myopaeformis. This moth is called the red-belted clearwing in Europe, the apple clearwing moth in North America, and the apple borer. This is due to their tendency to damage their host apple trees. It is considered a pest in Europe.

They may be confused with the large red-belted clearwing and the red-tipped clearwing.

Description This moth has a thin, dark blue, segmented body. The body is hairless aside from a bushy tail at the end of the abdomen. They are noticeable due to a bright red-orange band on one of the segments of the abdomen. The wings are clear with a dark outline and veins and a fringe on the outer margin (outer edge). The wings help distinguish the red-belted clearwing from the large red-belted and red-tipped clearwings as the wings have no red-orange markings.

Wingspan Range: 1.8 - 2.8 cm (≈0.71 - 1.1 in)

Diet and Habitat This species eats mainly apple, specifically Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris), as well as Pear (Pryus communis), Hawthorn (Crateagus monogyna), Almond (Prunus dulcis), Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), apricots, cherries, mountain ash, peaches, plums, and quince. In Canada, adult moths have been attracted to the flowers of the snowy milkweed.

They can be found natively in Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. This species was noticed to North America and first detected in Canada in 2005. They inhabit well established orchards and gardens, hedgerows, open woodland, and mature scrub.

Mating Adults emerge from their cocoons in early summer and on flight from May to August, this is presumably their mating season. Females can lay up to 250 eggs, usually singly in the cracks or damaged areas of the trunk and branches they are hosting in. Females attract males with pheromones released from glands. A 2010 study found that 3,13-octadecadienyl acetate is the primary sex hormone.

Predators The larvae of this moth are preyed on by parasites, fungi, and bacteria. The main parasite of red-belted clearwing larvae is Liotryphan crassiseta. Other parasites are Nematodes, Steinernema sp. The fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum are common causes of death in larvae as well as the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis.

Fun Fact

The adult red-belted clearwings are significantly less active on cold days compared to warm days.

In 2014, Judd and Eby found that S. myopaeformis does not discriminate between yellow, green and white or between purple, blue, red, and black. This suggests that they are dichromatic, meaning they can perceive mainly two colors. This affected traps set to catch this species as they acted differently depending on the light reflected.

As this species is considered a pest to apple trees, people have attempted to control the population. This has been tried with pheromone/mating disruption, pheromone laced traps, other chemical traps, the use of predators/enemies, and the covering of apple tree trunks in oil.

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2][3], Butterfly Conservation, Michigan State University)

[cipheramnesia]

Vivisection

I sloughed the shell in a flourish of our shared sweat, blood, and mucus. Cold on the steel-grated floor lift, tech eyes wide over me as my psyche twitched itself back together from the needles. My eyes said you must be new but my mouth spoke in thick puked up fluid whilst my sopping slick shuddering fingers clawed nerve pads off my tits and slid catheter from my dick. All of us nerves had little twitches of pleasure as we found ourselves whole, and made it to sitting.

"Towel," I found language, and the tech handed it, eyes carefully elsewhere at the pink and red cockpit still quivering in urgency, wet with quenched desires. Methodically cleaned under the wet warm terrycloth ministrations, top to standing, adjusting to eyes and ears 'side skin and taste. The hangar was all echoes of more experienced crew on the teardown fifty feet up and down the shell, didn't need the look I turned anyway at my love, the crab. Rested claws in bands of carbon, four squat legs and rolling condensation off the quieting spiracles. Charred, twisting armor coated over with clotted brown patch like scabs and fading blue drips of other less evils' blood, sparkling at places from shattered refractive layers, spongy intrasteel glistening through here and there. Below it discharged glutinous tar from the trap, all spent oil and shock fluid plus shells and fused filters, burned heat hexes all and all bound for the reprocess, someone else's hand-me-down armor or shoes.

The wasp staggered past us to its own home sweet safety net so I hung the rail in a gentlemanly way and bade our tech meet my goddess in crime at her door. "They have their own lift," the tech observed. My goosebumps agreed, emphasizing the questionable temperature, but a lady must pay her respects. "I don't care," I suggested so we went.

Parked up under those gangly legs adripped with the glow and silver of thirty confirmed kills and gored holes through musculoskeletal tubing told the tale, I held my arms in chivalry as the mandibles underside the shell parted ways and dripped Ari into my embrace along side her own deluge of girl-juice and veined amniogel shreds. Knees buckled as my stomach protested my lack aforethought, but no one could dispute the benefits of a girl pressed against my breasts, slinging her long arms around me. She barfed over my shoulders, warm and phlegmy.

Ari'd pulled her cords in the shell like a good girl, still shook gainst my skin as she stuttered, "fuh- fuh- fuh-" while I jerked my head at the tech who shrugged. Outta towels, well my bad. Leaned us on the railing and thought about tonight, you know the human body's pretty heavy all said? "Your... skin is... freezing!" she articulated, not a request mere observation, but my arms acquiesced nevertheless. We leaned on each other watching black muck drain from the wasp's thorax, standing around naked in a pool of shell vomit. "Yer dumb," she added, hocking up more phlegm. "Now're both shlimy." The other shells crawled in with the tide, blasted with sterilizing powder and steam, various scorpions and mosquitos and spiders seeking succor as we finally made our way down the textured rubber steps.

"Fuckin so hungry," Ari slurred, dribbling blood and saliva while my own stomach answered midst shouts of our squad as they were reborn, crawling free and bloodied from the shell, some still babbled nonsense, tried to move limbs no longer bodied and no shame to them. "You threw up so much, 'spected," I said. Watched Spinning Jenny shaking mucus off his head, snapping teeth together.

"Gonna eat three horses," Ari added. "Fuck potatoes, my dick can fuck a pile of potatoes I'm starving." She shook my shoulder, my legs wobbled in tune, "Clingy bitch." But her hand stayed, fingers digging the tense muscles in my back, mine squeezed her hips. "Casey I want you to hold me down and force feed a gallon of cheese into me." Managed to cross the whole hangar naked, didn't eat shit. Techs hooted appreciating and I tried to bow but just did a cockeyed vanity wave. Brain twitched but kept my cool, remembered I don't see in sonar. "Maybe later tonight," I murmured sotto voce. I cleaned the fresh blood from my ears with a pinky finger.

Lockers, showers, Ari always liked when I soaped and dried her, little bit of a tease, ease of limbs back into bodily limits. She was wiping gunk from her eyes, still going, "I fuck shit swear I'm getting mission reruns in my sleep now. Bullshit we don't hang on to PDN memories, I've deffo had the same shit we throw at the elves in my head at night."

"They're not elves," I said.

"Whatever, magical monster tree bugs, I dunno, are you getting shell feedback?" I was toweling her thick curls, my own short hair dried sweet quick. Threw on those almost paper scrubs. Sexy. "Babe, we all got feedback, I'm not even sure how much me is in my mind."

She grabbed my hair and gave my head a little shake, "Lucky you, I'll fuck your brains out anyway," and blew my hair out my eyes. I grabbed her hand and pushed back, she swooned, we crushed hard as team shelled and molted, in bed or in field. Just a way to anchor, comes with the piloting, nothing new. Lots of pilots fall in twos and fours of strange bedfellow - gets you back in mind after so long parted. "Shut the fuck up," she said to my smile, shoved back, I reeled her in and smiled more til she punched my shoulder. "Fuck you, feed me." We joined the aching crowd clustering to the mess hall.

Slammed our piled trays on a table, minutes later. Scatter Hawk had beat us there somehow, last in the bay, first to the hay per usual. Jelly was still in their hair and they were tearing into a pile of beef flavored protein patties they'd slathered with garlic chili sauce and pickled carrot chips. Shoved it in their blood-smeared face with mixed results twohanding a fork, missed the target 30% of the time. "Glad you're a better shot with the 40," I suggested and they replied, "Slip your own dick sideways fish brisket," spittle and snot sprayed with each word, language not quite in the altogether I guess. I slapped some nerves back into their shoulder and they grunted wetly and appreciatively.

Ari pushed me onto the bench and dropped down, catted up against me and chugged hot sauce from the tube, followed by a fistful of fake bacon and chips dripping with jalapeños. "Thid fit gess weeper effy dah" she spat out with a mouthful of half chewed food, elbowing my ribs in the process, so I slipped my hand over her thigh and gave her a reassuring stim. I was busy with whatever passed for kimchi and pork flavored protein while the table started filling up with other pilots eating an entire day's worth of food in one sitting, trying to feel and speak and touch and taste all at once with mixed successes, all of us trying to pick our nerves up from the sludge being in the shell made out of our bodies. DeeDee shoved a fork at us and said, "Fuck were you, suckin dick? Tank's supposed to keep hits off."

"Yeah, take many hits?" I wiped the dribbled of blood off my lip.

"Like ten! Two in a lung!" He jabbed a beef patty for table wobbling emphasis.

Barely audible Ari whispered, "You're alive aren't you?" Head was drooped under her curled hair near to my level, flying below table radar, still about hit direct to a nerve with DeeDee's bloodshot eyes going big and Hellis beside scooting its flat ass away but none of us got further into what manner of dicks weren't or were sucked (my carefully planned speech - about the pincer move we broke while I was still jamming longways thanks and the relationship of DeeDee's dick being vaporized vis a vis our suckage - wasted). Squad command rudely storming our table with the demand: "Death Claw! Kill Strike!"

Silence resumed in sudden shock as he stood authority thrust chinward, all our eyes tracking the table. He repeated the command, "Death Claw! Kill Strike!" Silence abounded, roamed the plains, handed him a look of weary resignation as his lips, with all the distaste of gingerly dropping a dead rat into a toilet, formed, "Kitty Candy and Raccoon Enchantment," he struggled to recover his momentum but the wind was dead, "I need to speak with you both." Tablewide "ooooo" and Spinning Jenny added "someone's in trouuuble," as we took our ways in the talking wake of the baron of bluster.

Followed breadcrumbs of wet bootie prints and bloodsmeared walls back to the old bay so he could scream at us with an echo. "You semen stains mind explaining what the fuck you were doing back in that shitshow?"

Her nose was bleeding heavily again and I could feel Ari's arm spasm as she pushed close behind me, whispering without sound. I had answers mercifully drowned in a wad of spit and phlegm suddenly dumping into my mouth and down my chin.

"Gods you're all fucking sick. Disgusting. Got nothing to show for it?"

I swallowed another gob of something unpleasantly solid which mercifully shot from my lungs into my mouth giving moments for me to think forward. Rare enough, I treasured them. Figured best not mention what was the thing, blowing the drop bolts early cuz she wanted to try and fire the primary on the wasp from directly above a banyan whilst midair, sans stabilizers, which for the record she hit the thing but caught an extra eighth mile sky above the crate.

"Listen," I gurgled, wiped off my face. ("Listen SIR," he interjected, so I waved indulgently.) "Hurgle. My decoms pinged a hostile lake, looked like a stand of banyans an' a anthill so we bailed at drop beta." Ari's fingers drug out blood from under my paper sleeve, fuck ridiculous she's like eight inches taller trying to make my ass into partial cover.

"Drop beta," he repeated the words to emphasize their unwelcome intrusion to his shriveled brain. I realized the part of my memories with this squad commander's name got sliced in the shell. His face was twitching as bad as mine ever has. "There was no drop beta! There was one site, slash and burn, the end!"

"Well lucky you! We set one up before that swampfire cut our lines up, no thanks necessary please, you know we do it for the love of our jobs."

He looked at the melted up muscle and vatsteel carapace curves of my beloved crab and wasp. Some mirror shaved surfaces, bug blood all black where it congealed. "Fuckin trannies, disgusting, undisciplined- Why we hire so many I don't even-"

"C'mon, you know we're your best guys."

"You're literally my worst guys! If I had anyone else fucked in the head enough to shove into those- those fucking meat grinder abominations, I'd dump your freakshow asses so far in the back beyond you'd fart just for the conversation!"

I elbowed Ari in the gut before she said something dumber than I had in mind. "You know the old saying, a tranny in the shell will give em all hell."

His face snapped shut like crab's load-in maw. Gritted teeth rumbled, "Scrape duty for the next two hours." He shoved us out of the way off to ruin someone else's sex lives, his own probably.

Two hours and two trays of congealed processed protein with vinegar and hot peppers, we trudged down the narrow hall to bunk. The ganglia stopped twitching but it'd been a minute last I had this much elf blood under my nails and my hair reeked of burned polyfilament lubricant.

Ari stretched her arms back because the ceiling was too low for up grumbling, "Don't wanna spec nother fuckin face for a whole shift." I shrugged half drop slept and headed my roomways, brought to heel with her hand on my wrist. "The fuck you think you're going, you promised." Her, lips, just as crusted with blood and snot as mine still a cute pout in dire times.

I gauged my cramping stomach up against that hand and those lips. We hadn't been on-mission for a sec, and fuck for the moment I'm only human and very horny. Still. "You said-"

"People, I mean people." She punched the latch and I let her reel me into her narrow cabin, coming attractions you could call it. I said, "Babe, you gotta pick up your underwear - or anything - sometime." Ari grabbed a bottle of the rancid wine someone was making from cooking oil and caramelized vinegar. She put it against my chest, and put us against the stowage wall, and put her tongue into my throat. Her lips were gunpowder nachos, burning hot, both of us careless to chapped cracked open blood. I took a slug of the wine, with its notes of artificial PTSD raspberry flavor, as she pulled the bunk from the wall. I held up the bottle, tipped it to her lips, spilled it into her mouth, on her face, down her bare flesh and cheap scrubs.

Ari yanked it away and tossed it to the refuse under her fully unused sliver of a desk. I grabbed her by the front of her scrubs, they tore, so I grabbed her arm and fumbled us against the edge of the cot, struggling with my pants and paper booties. "Fucking elastic, now it works?" Ari tried to rip the pants off, snapping a yelp and a shock outta me when she snapped the band on my stomach, so I pushed my hand into her pants and grabbed her dick, hip checked her onto her back on the cot, then furiously yanked both our pants off. We smashed tongues and lips again, her guided by my fingers in her hair, me by her nails on my back, furrows through the grime mottling my acne scarred skin. I clambered onto her, a full tangle of legs and elbows with the sweet serenade of the cot, joints protesting weight and unwelcome thrashing. But I had hold of her now, me and my little growls, her softly repeating "please," as I pressed our hips, tits, lips together. Teased and pinched on and around her nipples, scratched the welcome back real world long her ribs, pulled myself to myself with her rhythmic panting breaths. Shudders passing through from her to me, traded in kind as we reminded our bodies and each other of the dwindling human embers in our chests, the dregs of what once was bright and happy in the world still enough between us to reignite into the shape we suffered through bereft of shells. A minute for our hearts to hammer together, to take in the mossy dried blood scent, the reek of sweat and metal, both of us hard and slick against one another.

When she murmured, we gingerly squirmed our legs and arms around and across each other til Ari lay on her stomach, the pathetic, thin excuse of a mattress rolled under her chest and arms. Lube was spread over her ass and my fingers with wasteful urgency. I worked my hands slowly down her back, gently caressing her sync ports with my thumb, watching them contract and gape with her moans. The lips of them tingled and sent pulses of pleasure through my hands from lingering protonerves. Moved downward to her ass and sliped in one finger at a time, stroking inside her folds, touching her walls, three in and rhythmic spreading and relaxing as she sucked in air, so I leaned up close and slipped my tongue into her neckport, the sphincter closed tight and opened wide and I could feel my ports sympatic response, taste her tasting tasting her. She twisted her pillow into knots and I pushed my cock into her as my fingers slipped out, slowly, feeling her tense up and relax.

Slivers of amniogel squished against my cock in her ass, protonerves shot echos of her through me, flaring and then crushed between us. We pressed ourselves closer, trading pulses back and forth, that one flashing minute of her ass against my hips and one hand on her dick, my face in her hair, one hand pressing into jer back ports, letting her suck the lube from my other hand. It was almost the ecstasy of feeling our minds dissolve into one another. Then we moved again. Hours or minutes, I felt her cum trickle over my hands and wiped it on her thigh as I kept going. Mucus spilled from her contracting back sphincters and my own. Fucking the trace of vat grown life to death until we might have a hope of sleep tonight.

It was humid and reeked of sex, everything about Ari barely fit, except for me, so we stole away these moments from each other to remember and forget. It was nothing in the world, but it was better than dying alone. My leg hung off the bed when we had rolled free of one another, too filthy to breathe and too wasted to shower. My elbow and hip hurt from banging against the wall. Her legs were curled up and her left knee jabbed painfully into my thigh, I couldn't find a place to put my right arm and it was falling asleep but the tingle felt better than trying to stand up. Head was jammed into my neck, couldn't be comfortable, I brushed tangles out of her hair. Muffled, she said, "You smell bad."

"You love it. You missed my pit stank, my demure little corpseflower." She made gagging noises into my clavicle. "I'm gonna have to go back to my nice bunk where the floor is clean, can't stay under my wing forever birdie."

"Whatever," I felt her lips mashed against me with each word, and braced for her to shove me off bed, but her arm just squeezed me closer. "Can so stay f'rever," she sounded almost asleep, her head pushed closer to me and she muttered something like "glove mew bits."

Rolled eyes, but pressed a little closer. "Sure, marinate some new strain of bacteria, they can spatula us out the morning." Unprepared by her momentary snuggle, my ass hit the floor in a pile of unwashed tanktops with a sleep slurred "fuck off."

I left my dignity in the laundry and blew a kiss. "You're gonna hate you in the morning if you sleep that way," she made and grumpy noise and wrapped herself around the rolled up mattress, trying and failing to fit on the metal cot. I tripped a little on the way out the door, on my half naked way to a luxury five minute hot shower to a low bid bargain cold sleep.

Dreams told tales from the shell. Techs all swore in the slice nothing transfers. True enough we lost a short term or three but that's the balance to cost against feedback, they said. Dreams were my four legs crushing earth compact from the drop jump as my decoms rolled over the banyans and bugs slinging spells, my nightmost terrors unfolding from the PDN and flooding their foci and fetishes. In the mindscape ground ran fluid under mechanized polyplastic muscle, the world putty with my gargantuan claws. Chaff launched from deep inside my chambered shell to spark the incoming green, a deathly spray to casual sunblock rads, no mind to armored skin.

Myriad wave of banyans moving, windblown, roots crawling, but there she is, my darting wasp hurling her thousand stings, finding targets in my trackers n hackers through the grassfield bugs. Their blood glows blue, all the work of their spells to brittle silver threads that fall to pieces. She lands and I bathe the hill in freaks, veritable fog of messy tracking til her thorax slides open and erects its throbbing, winged main gun, legs planted, struts in, and a hurricane throws banyan trunks to shreds, clears a canyon of death, and she screams, and I see the branches from the earth tearing her apart, I am slow, bogged in sudden mud, green spears her, the angry earth rips her legs from limb, black ichor and green coolant and I wake up screaming as she shouts for me to go. Clutching the metal edge to my cot, seeking my body again, for a moment unable to hear or see, I exist only as pounding blood and raw nerves til each flexed muscle brings me to human.

Some time passes to rise, rollout hours more hence, I spent time to feel my body, put on shorts and t-top and try to forget the dream and Ari's voice screaming for me to leave her.

I tried to sleep the echo away, then folded my cot and dug the glass bottle of beauties. Rattled a couple hatch-down to flatten it out. Nothing doing, no washing or wiping or jerking off removed the unwelcome night haunt, so I made my soft shod way down to mess.

Rigs like these, there's never quiet. Air cycles, night crew, the odd distant clatter we all always hoped wasn't the seconds off warning of full breach. I paused by Ari's door, halfway to clacking it, but moved counterspin towards mess. No sense both of us losing sleep over one misfire of psyche. Half light in the mess, couple plotters and binders poked listless fried protein and I took my separate peace with a cup of the juice. Sick sweet chemflavor kicked caffeine to my heart and guts enough to winnow away the hours trying a dozen different flavors of artificial spice on artificial food, feeling artificially alive.

DeeDee showed in first after rollout, guy was never not angry at me over some shit, angry at something, put a lot of that through the lines good for us. Hellis always hung round, I specced on their afterhours but never pried the privates. Wouldn't have minded a bunk with either, but oh well. Shadow Jumper and Stepper and Jenny and so on filing their way through gallons of sickening juice and overcooked daybreak. Ari was last in, skulking through the rising shine and din of the mess, caught a tangle of her eyes but crowds were parting our ways.

"See how long you last without that filter, you'd hurl minimal," Jenny kept prodding at Scatter Hawk putting away more forkfulls than any two of us, just grunting back, while DeeDee yelled down the table at Stepper over horrendous and audible farts. I couldn't find a minute to catch Ari's eyes, roll em back and forth with mine, she was digging a hole through her tray.

I spent a frustrated week shipping past her nights. Some asshole I learned was apparently in charge of the squad demanding press-ups and running laps spin wise. Got mad when I said we don't use any muscles and I had to do extra sit-ups, and I threw up and didn't see Ari in the lockers. Tear down on the crab, coming and she was on her grease stained way showers, grimacing. Asleep when I catted around her doors at the odd hours. Anxiety in my spare space left my skin crawling. Ran into her at the psyche cracker and said hey, how you doin? Ari said, "Fine," with those tangled up eyes.

"You okay? I do something you wanna talk?" Whatever was left inside my skull felt like it wanted me to vomit it through my ports. My intestines wanted my skin rippled.

She shook her head. "It's not. You're good, you're good, I just." She shook her head again, tugged the hem of her shirt. Bless I was horny as fuck but just wanted to untangle her eyes, please.

"Listen, I got-"

"Casey!" The skull breaker slid its door up. Check-in time, its glassed eyes and masked mouth glittered, jovial work for a septic system.

"Ari, one second doc. Hey."

Backing down the hall, miming apologies. "I'll see you around Case."

I got a good grade from the psyche. "Very little degradation today," it exclaimed. "Your connectivity must have been quite well balanced! If you maintain this synchronization, we can expect to keep memory and autonomic function nearly optimal. Please ensure you take your supplements to maintain neural plasticity, excellent work!"

It always ignored my questions so I didn't ask anymore but one time I looked up "autonomic" and I was not very excited about the implications. Clacked Ari's door on the way back roomwards, to no result. Shut my door hard, rattled more beauties down my gullet and lay on the floor, tossed aside my psyche chart with all its healthy green and admonishing yellow. Degradation did not feel minimal, I was fragile with worry and my body wanted to fly apart, uncontained by the shell and trembling with skin crawling fear. Nothing flattened, the spin felt too fast, and I wiped confused wetness off my face. I clenched fists to my sides and shook uncontrollably. When would the drop would come?

Rolled out and rounded up came down soon enough against my liking. Marched our asses cross to the bay and posted us up. The squad leader looked uniquely miserable for each syllable of "Kitten Candy! Raccoon Enchantment!" He might actually kill me if he figures out how I changed our call signs.

Ari lurked behind me, sleep deprivation coming off her in radiant heat. I'd woke on the aching floor to rollout chimes, back still sharp from the sleep I should've skipped. She'd been doing teardown some long hours fore we got the callout. "Since you two reliably fuck up anything more complicated than bright colors and shapes, you're doing drop targeting. Three sites, think you can handle it?"

"Probably not, SIR!" I said, and he was not amused, Ari flopped hands affirmatively over the task a drone could do.

"Get synced up because that's the mission. Fuck off, the adult pilots are talking."

Could've argued, didn't, not with the halides in my skull and Ari walking away for the wasp. "Hey! Hey." Caught up around and walked with her. "Lotta radio silence, you good? I mean, girl, you look like shit, but you good?" We reached the lift. My hand was more tentative on her shoulder than my first time trying on a bra. "Are, like, are we? You know, did I say something?"

"Shit, you're fuckin impossible," Ari pulled a smile from an awful place. "Never said nothing except all I wished-" She started climbing. "Ah, fuck off, you know you're good. So good I want... like, fuck. I'm good. Had feedback something fierce this week. Hcch." I walked behind her, hand at her back and lifted, she grabbed my wrist. "C'mon, bitch, gimme a boost up."

The tech up top had the wasp open, long tongue dangling, pink, dripping ready to enfold. The mandibles were an umbrella over us, the whole cockpit slung between a sensaray and fire platform up front and the main gun taking up most of the thorax, flightless wings for short jumps and bristled with beams and missiles webbed into veins and live nerves. Ari stripped off her clothes and I helped her with the mass of thick tubes dangling from the soft flesh of the wasp's underbelly. Gentle with the catheter while she gripped my shoulder, taping the skin contacts on, then slipping the fat red sync cables and their gently writhing filaments into the sphincter along her neck and spine.

"Hey." I looked up from making stirrup hands and Ari's fingers lifted me from kneeling. "You be here when we come back, kay? I don't wanna open this cage if I don't see your ugly mug waiting."

"You fuckin wish," I said. "Believe, I'll be here, I got nothing better to do."

She had that smile, eyes almost past her tangle. "Yeah, what the fuck do I care, you're just, like. Well fuck you, anyway, you better be here, no excuses."

I put my hands together and knelt. "No excuses, bitch." She stepped into me and I hoisted her up until the closing mandibles caught her and pulled her the rest of the way in. The wasp began to breathe, the metal and polymer exoskeleton tightening as it straightened. The multiplicably enfolded legs flexed all their joints. I made my way from Ari's lift to my own, perspective and spin distorted neath my crab all encompassing the view and my world. The stairway to its cockpit was considerably longer, but no aid was needed. Sixfold mandibles waited for me, tubes lay cross the steel grate for my own administration. That same tech still couldn't look as I stripped and strapped. Didn't need help with my ports, just held crab's feelers up and they squirmed their way to the intimate fibers of my spinal cord. I sighed and my ports contracted to pull the connections deeper to the nerve.

The tech muttered, "I can't cope with the freaky shit," stepped off lively. Probably thought I couldn't hear as I wound myself into the folds of the crab's intimacy, and was encased in the dark. The peristaltic folds squeezed and swallowed me into the wet warm depths in the heavy polycombine plate armor of our turret. Impact gel, amniogel, blood and mucus flowed over my feet and hands, the added nerves and plasm more deeply fusing us. I felt my vision shriveling through a tunnel, my gritty eyes black in my skull, each muscle of my limbs unfurled from bones to thread themselves into the limbs of a colossus. My spine grew through my skin to blossom across a carapace and turret, flexed my claws and the wide flat armor wings across my back, felt the hangar through its myriad complex electrical systems and programs running in constant state of adjustment. I could smell the synapses of the crew inside the rig, all the redundant added systems, multiple layers of security, still so vulnerable inside this soft underbelly. My web crackled and fluttered along my body. I could kill everyone around me with a thought and leave only my fellow, slumbering shells for company.

I vacuumed air through my body and filters, hundreds of pounds in a breath. Piece by piece I cut my mind free of its cage, each part of it a point in a web of a thousand stars to guide my way. How had I ever let myself believe I could be human? How could I be when I was this, so much more, the parts of my mind I never before realized were incomplete. Destroy me, I urged the crab. Consume the last of my flesh and bones, and let me free once and for all. I slipped my claws out of their bands and tested link with wasp - with Ari. She vibrated enthusiasm, her stimulant chemicals were flooding overtime, and I selected the clam path of her many input and system indexes to aid her, grant her focus to the still before the burn. The dropship waited and we obliged, neither of us patient for departure and planet fall, once again to taste the alien atmosphere and feel true gravity pull at our tissue and joints.

Countdown for slow minutes, and we jammed to our sync. I felt at peace, each part of my psyche sliced from itself, and we lay distributed across our body, through small cortexes fired with the parts of my consciousness. We ticked through systems and my subconscious night terrors spooled into projectors while my self sense expanded to the decom in preparation for target tracking. Ari and I could feel one another as we synced, her slender body and long legs torquing their secondary legs into alignment. Her deepest horrors became a narrow band of foci, accompaniment to each one of her eight gun placements

We swayed for a minute as the drop slid out through the bay doors til thrusted still in a white noise of rocket and atmosphere. Open doors spilled a flurry of blinding light and boiling air. We cut the cord and took flight. Fission cycled to jets and Ari soard around my less graceful lander module decel, both flirtatious and efficient. Earthshaking on point, I breathed in the beacon for the first drop target, then pulled myself free of deeply fertile soil, felled the odd red thornbush in the way of our determinedly stealth free journey. Ari was more nimble in her travels, caught us both up fair to the prep kit. My decom swept all sides of the range for crevices of organized blue, and looked through my wavspec for tattletale knurled arms and segmented torso trunks.

"Whistle clean," I thrummed to Ari and she slipped up through to the prep barely shifting a twig. My hearts beat in time to her showy work then my pace crushed the evidence in passing. Exultation flooded my glands and fluttered my filtration, we set to the lungs of the future. My claws could lift and move enough whilst Ari's more dexterous complex digits hooked in power, nutrient starter, bacteria loads. All color coded and writ large enough couple pilots couldn't fuck it up, track records notwithstanding. Few hundred and we'd be able to turn the toxic swamp of atmosphere to nearly breathable. Plenty for firsts, let them deal with the messy genes for the twenty-threes to come later. Not us, not our yards and acres of lungs filtered enough to breathe near vacuum. Minutes confirmed the bactomix was good, and we beamed our confirmation.

"Nice and tidy," Ari observed the dirt churned circle round the target. I tasted the ground, messy but starter ready.

"Good enough. It'll be dust in a year anyway. Grab a ride?" We're supposed to march it point to point, no riders no passengers, but it's slow n tedious. She grappled to my exo instead. Put a safe-ish distance from the drop target, hunkered. Earth churned to mud and boiled around my feet as we sank down, I wrenched all I could from dirt rocks clay, sprayed hot waste out my vents, and we exploded into the air on jets carved from living thorns and earth, second drop in record time. Nothing rumbled I could spec but still. "Tastes sour," I trembled contact to contact. Ari slithered down and crouched near my shoulder.

Moments she said, "It's stilled air, might be some action crosswinds." Her wings flexed a bit and we looked for the petrichor druid chemsign. At range I could pick out just the echo of their craft, the sizzle of their spells registered a bare zero zero DV scale. "Specced it, action's noways near," I thrummed between us. "Sus, though, we're ahead of schedule, let's walk it." She affirmed, and we moved like glass, opened the target pack and specced every step.

Thorns still, sharp rocks earth clay uphill still, air still, but the maddening aquamarine fuzz of rain cluttered my sights. Ari flexed her wings on her thorax again, rocket platforms twitched nervously. "There's too much fizzing," she hissed, picking up my discomfort. Gauss guns on her sensary pointed hither and yon. "Fuck it," I thrummed, "Bact's good, bail." She mounted me from behind and we dug in the dirt, boiled and processed and locked. Branches burst up from earthbound as every spec greenlined on me, and I screamed in sickeningly fractured agony.

I could feel my exo cracking where the branches of an Atlas banyan crushed around three of my legs, pain and fluids pouring out of my body. Had to be a twin trunk, at least. Even my spiracles bled. Jagged shapes stung my left claw and numbed one of my injured legs. I could hear Ari's screeching and felt her weight shift from me to the ground. My specs were greened out in swampfire, I could taste the ozone and my own charred exo, but I was blind.

"I can't scope!" Ari's panic crackled and echoed through my body, fuled the rush of toxic stims and lit up my heat sinks bright from overclock. "I'm on it, I've got guidance," I lied, throwing a narcofilter into com. I dialed in broad spec and fired a wave of chaff, unspooled PDN for mass nightmare. Swapped high-speed into UV infra sonic organize scope range til I could line out the elves. Ari's screeches spiraled in time to hits I felt in my neuron clusters, dirt and rocks rattled from being skywards. Contermanded a second hit of stims in my system, cooled collect.

Instant recovery between the chaff and PDN. The stinging cold geometry faded its intensity on my exo. I experienced the reward of disrupted Atlas' soundscreams enduring the mortifying ordeal of being scoped. Shortburst the dial range to Ari. Caught backflow of her relief. Found the seconds we needed to move.

The Atlases were over halfway out of the soil, still partly wrapped their heavy branches over Ari and me. Quad trunks, fuck. Druid support, double fuck. The fully exposed organizing casters ways off, spec a kilo or two, but their alien decoms were holding up to the PDN. I pulled back to Ari and my pain receptors shut off the instant my legs twisted and shed broken exo like ice, steel grinding itself each movement. I checked her stat. Half a leg and one wing had been torn off. Her body was coated with slick black and green fluid, mixed with white foam. Her secondary leg was intact and functional, but I could see six bad hits from those light spears.

I cut loose a second wave of chaff, narrowed for the type-beta shieldworks from the druids, scattered an arch of green spears - I put my wings and claws out front to do their job just in time to take the secondary hit of jagged blue geometry. My back legs twisted excessively past their limit. The tri-polyplate claws held, mostly, some smoldering layers blasted free and others melted. I tight focused neural disruptors at the Atlases, cut more chaff, joyed at their screams of fear and agony. "Ari, my target." She swayed but unfolded her stabilizer struts, hit one of them with three rockets, a particle shot, and a full sec from the gauss, frosted it's decom and tore up the left half of its body. Glistening dark blue blood exploded across the other two and it laid out, alive but no threat. Heat fins spread wide open white hot underside her wings, her legs. "Casey your fuckin legs they-"

I flickered low beams at the druids, didn't connect but gave em a minute to think, redirected a broad neural disrupt at our six, more encouraging screeches, I filled the crab with the worst of my mind to saturate multiple kilometers in the PDN of my own fears and nightmares. "Ari, not now, cover."

Even on a wing and half a leg she was a beautiful flower of agony, spread of rockets, heavy beams, blistered depslugs streaking from her to seek the druids proved weakest by their alchemical conversion to bright blue explosions of blood and bone. Steamed heavy off her sink. The second Atlas was fighting up through my disrupt. I hit it with a PDN flare mix, and didn't catch the green blue spellwork shield crackling twixt its bark til I had to duke it.

The Altas caught a claw with one limb, put two more into my main body, right center, and I was overwhelmed by the vomit stench of my tissue and exo and endo rupturing, polymuscles shredded, but I boiled my feet in deep with stage one for jump, and got my other claw on its middle trunk. My com was choking garbled but I said, "Ari-" before I felt the left rear third joint sheer and snap.

She was to me before I could waver with her forelegs' high beam up to max in its face. Light hotter than stars burst the banyan into three flaming pieces, sheer through the trunk, bloodless, charred beyond recognition in a second. She buzzed me. "We can't stay." The last of the Atlases was pulling a highdef organized multiplier out of the earth. Looked like pine tree trunk but carried in a single limb. I specced another Atlas closing. One good HDOM shot would dust my armor. One bad shot would vaporize Ari. "You're right."

I tried to spool up, but the PDN was dead, so I blasted chaff along the ground in front of the Atlas. Give it some hot shrapnel to work through, dialed the rest for max dispersal, and cut three quarters skyward. "Grab a lift," I snarled and she was on me. "And set your main."

The earth churned and my legs threatened to give, but held. "Case. I tried that last week, rec? I couldn't hit shit."

"Yeah. You tried it. We didn't." I hit the jump, we caught sky.

Ari's limbs folded around my body, and her remaining claws clamped, support struts pierced my exo secondary limbs unfolded to add more stability. She shifted the main rifle forward from inside her thorax and opened the remaining wing, heat vents fully extended, coolant spraying out of her wounds as it pumped triple time through her sinks. Her thorax flexed heavy with breath and the gun's wiring and nerve rigs flushed the scent of her excited musk around us. I wrapped my three remaining legs up over my body and clung to her, spun us with my wings on our axis. We had a beautiful aerial view of the remains of our own ambush, our legs fallen close like hands of dying lovers.

The main gun of the wasp would not be possible to see if we had human eyes. A three stage system requiring the finest care with aiming and multiple stabilizers to the firing platform ensuring a clean hit, combined with full heat dispersal for blowback. It would break up shield and decoms, disruptors and polyplate, followed instantly by a particle beam depslug mixture.

I wrapped my claws over her cockpit segment and she fired. The slug obliterated the Atlas, its multiplier detonating and spraying organized green spears haphazardly with blue geometry. The drop target went up and threw a cloud of concentrated bacto over what looked like eight kilometers. I saw the beam digging a canyon through the earth moments before the bacteria and debris blacked the site.

We were thrown, I lost a second leg and both wings. Deaf to coms. My chaff clattered off us, shredded our armor. The full thorax and both of Ari's rear legs were torn away by recoil and a furnace blast of overheating power couplings as I held fiercely, even when my left claw was cleanly severed by the last flash of the beam and my main body punctured and boiled by her shrapnel. I realized I wasn't deaf, I simply was unable to hear anything except Ari screaming and lost valuable seconds - nothing to see but sky and only rushing air over our spinning bodies.

I jetted waste from my secondary vents, they spat angrily but caught air. Risked it, held Ari with my only two legs and put my claw between us and the freight train rush up on drop target three. I hoped enough was left of her to hear me shout, "Impact Impact Impact!"

The ground was very wide and very fast and black. It was-

Nothing. Black.

Casey. Casey. You need to get up.

"Casey," Ari's hiss was a near inaudible comm. "Casey please... I can't move my legs."

I specced, half blind, dialed it through. There was a flicker of distant green. Move. I felt joints and plastic muscle, raw tissue and white foam dig the earth, I moved in a little circle. The drop ship was waiting - no pilot, just auto for a grunt mission in and out.

"I'm up," I lied to Ari. She hissed, "I know you aren't." I specced myself. One leg could move, claw somehow intact, thank you polyplate. Other legs just partial joints, trailed their hydraulics and burned nerves. Quarter chopped off the rear platform. "Am so," I thrummed and put my claw in the ground, levered. Slid my partial legs underneath and my one good one up. "I'm up." I started pushing myself along the earth.

Felt like dragging the big protein drums on kitchen duty, couldn't lift much as rock myself back and forward one side at a time. I found what was left of Ari.

"How's it look," she hissed. One of her two remaining legs was shattered in half a dozen places, congealed foam doing nothing for the fluid leaks. Her other leg might last. Sensary might even be salvageable. There were holes gaping in her deformed cockpit, gel and blood oozing through cracks. "Looks great," I thrummed. "You lost so much weight."

Her laugh wheezed. "You got one good leg Ari, I need you to hitch a ride." She fumbled in the mud and found the tattered edge of my exo, dragged herself half onto what was left of my main body, and I pushed. Her voice was distant now, "Hey Case, remember that night fight, we jumped a bunch of elves with a flashblind."

Just a few meters. "Yeah, pretty funny. Guess they remembered us." She wheezed again, her comm was rattling. "And that time we used ice for heat sig?" My claw hit metal. I strained on the loading ramp without traction. "That was pretty good too, yeah." Fuck it. I grabbed one of the less important control struts and heaved, pulled. Felt my innards and Ari slither along metal, almost home. One more pull. "Hey Casey, hey. Remember when the fuckin elves ambushed us with our same dumb ideas and you thought I should shoot em on the jump."

I punched the recall code, the hatch cranked shut, dumped the tangled mess of our bodies into the drop bay. Acceleration crushed us. "Yeah Ari, that wasn't the best idea ever." The rig loomed up. "Right Ari? I'm an idiot." The comm was quiet.

We were in the bay and I was in a pool of sludge. I could feel my legs and arms and bruises and my own real blood on my face. I could walk and and almost stand, crawling clambering falling down the lift stairs before the tech could say anything. He slipped after me, clutched railing and tried to keep his footing in the mucus as I went sidewinding to our sad and shattered shells, tech prying open the jaws of Ari's with hydraulic levers.

I shoved through as the seal cracked, reek of poisoned atmos and stagnant amniogel, the snap of bone and it fell open, pouring Ari onto the hanger floor, washed up against me. I was on my knees, she was in my arms. Bone showed through one of her broken legs and a bloody hole in her ribs frothed blood. Her bottom lip split so bad I could see her shattered teeth sticking through it. Blood from her ears, nose, eyes, whole body a contour map of bruises.

Ari's one good eye cracked and she gurgled wet and rough, "You look like shit, Case." She spit blood.

"Told you. No excuses bitch."

"Fuck. No exchs." Nitrile gloved hands pulled us apart, and meds were shoving tubes into her, slapping dermals on her. They had a stretcher. Someone shone a light in my eye, I felt the cold slap of a dermal on my shoulder blade. "No excuses," I slurred as loud as I could. He said, "You shouldn't be standing up." I didn't know if Ari could hear. "I'm gonna be waiting!" They hit me with another dermal and goodnight.

It was like that for awhile, before I could go back to my bunk. Lot of debrief, I got a commendation, which mostly meant some extra cash in my account if I lived to spend it. Some looks. DeeDee came by and said "Mad respect." Scatter stopped in with some nearly not paint thinner whiskey. Squad leader came in and chewed me out. Then some days in my smaller, worse bed. I lay on my clothes and punched back painkillers and beauties, then got out of my space and flipped the latch on Ari's room to get into hers.

It looked the same. Laundry unlaundered, whiffs of fermented sweat and sex, crumpled up wrappers for hot sauce, thermalprint hentai, congealed shampoo and soap blocks. I held a tanktop to my face and inhaled, poked around her trash listlessly til I saw a scrap of print. Her last psyche, pages of red and yellow, warnings cautions, parts of it printed red on black. I banged out of her room with it clenched in my hot fist, storming along the counter spin corridors to Ring 2.

Medical. Deep breath. I pushed the door in and gave Ari the biggest smile I could muster and she asked, "Oh no. What's wrong," from where she was still ensconced in tubes to keep her lungs working while the biogels slowly closed her skin over. "What do you mean, what's wrong," I forgot to separte teeth for talking. Maybe a couple weeks before she was walking wounded. "You got a smile like you dropped a battery pack on your foot."

She looked better with her lips stitched back together. Her new front teeth were steel. I blinked and shook and pursed my lips so I wouldn't snarl when I unfolded the psyche chart she'd left balled up under her desk. Needles prickled along my feverish forehead. Tried to find words as she shifted her eyes away from mine and just said, "Oh. That."

I dropped it on her stomach. "Why? You could've- It... Why?" I've been called poetic in my time.

Ari started to bite her lip then stopped. Rubbed her eyes with her palms. "Ow. Everything hurts - Casey, what are you gonna do when you get outta here?"

"Because you can- Huh?" I blinked several more times rapidly. "Uh, I dunno. Little place with some twenty-threes? Maybe a dog? Nothing too special, just wanted a shot at like... living yeah?"

"But you think about it and... y'know, you see something?"

"Yeah, I guess, I mean a little. Who knows?"

She shut her eyes. "Well I didn't see anything." Squeezed her eyes. "I didn't think I'd- Case, I didn't come here for a shot at living. I... didn't see that. That idea." Tears slipped out of her eyes and she grimaced, shoved her hands against them. "I never planned to live that long," her breath hitched.

I didn't know what to do with my hands, whether to move over to her, or what. I nodded to her closed eyes, felt stupid. "Ari, I'd, uh, like it if you did."

She let out a long breath and opened damp eyes. "That's what, I mean, I met you. It's been good, and like. I realized I had started thinking about it."

"Thinking about it?"

"About being alive. Somewhere there, I mean, like, I thought about that I might want a future if it had you in it. And I guess I freaked about the idea it might not happen, and I wanted to keep you somewhere safe where I wasn't going to mess that up."

I folded my arms. "Ari, I fucking swear." She looked back at me. "I don't care how much it hurts, move the fuck over right now, I'm gonna hug you so bad you break another four ribs."

She slid a bit, and I managed to half lay in the bed around the IV tubes. I managed not to break her ribs. Big, stupid and hot tears dripped down my cheeks and nose as I squeezed, then grabbed her hands in mine. "Every day you wake up. I'll give you that future. You might not see yourself and that's okay because you'll see me, and I hope that's enough."

"I kinda kinda love you bitch," I clutched her tight. She kissed me, stitches rough against my lips, and smiled as she did. "You can stay," she said.

"I'll stay." And I did.

[youroriginalsublimecupcakestuff]

The first time that it happened, it was when he was frantically called to return to hq from his mission in France when he learned that dazai have finally left.

Figure that dazai would somehow manage to be troublesome even without being near him, it led him to have to search through the toxic waste that dazai called a home after defeating the numerous trap and having to pass through the bottles of beer and whisky and the cans of canned crab.

It was in an unassuming place in the shipping container that chuuya found a bunch of flowers : Aloe ( grief), butterfly weed ( let me go), Sweet pea ( goodbye, thank you for a lovely time), purple hyacinth (please forgive me, sorrow) , dark crimson rose ( mourning) and Pink carnation ( i'll never forget you) with a single sunflower seed.

And chuuya was loyal he swore his loyalty to the port mafia and It's members, it was his home and family and he intend to follow this vow till his death but chuuya was one of the few that could claim to know dazai and one things is sure bringing dazai back to the mafia against his wish will only end in the mutually assured destruction of him and the mafia, at least that what he told the boss when he asked him what he found.

He didn't tell anyone not even the boss, hirotsu-san and ane-san that his others reasoning was that he knew that bringing him back will be a betrayal to his partner and that he understand the message, while he make his search the mimic conflict stood out for him and while he mourned all their loss and deeply regreted the fact that he couldn't be here, his name lingered on the name of oda sakunosuke.

Dazai couldn't shut up about him and he would never admit him even under the threat of torture but a part of him have feel jealous of his closeness to dazai.

He and dazai others buddy we're gone and while he can't say that he fully understood all that he's thinking and he was really glad for that, those flower let him know that dazai was alive and let him have an idea of why he was gone, he could only hope that he would find what he search for no matter what it was but if dazai won't go after the mafia in retaliation, chuuya would do nothing.

So he went to do an exchange of favors with prof glasses to cover dazai trace, he saw Verlaine and ane-san more often while he wasn't with hirotsu-san or the boss and Elise, he took over akutagawa training, went training with the black lizards, drink with kajii, tachihara and hirotsu, go on mission, proved his loyalty to the mafia and drunk the bottle of petrus that he got from dazai in celebration of his departure and he said nothing about all the flower that he received in the three year that he didn't see that bandage wasting device.

He never told dazai what he learned with kouyou but he somehow learned that he know the language of flower, it's why in all those random place he found an Hydrangea ( gratitude for being understood) in his desk a few days after that he found the bunch of flower, then he found many more flower, in his apartment, in the port mafia lobby, even in his mission or when he went shopping or his vacation.

Yarrow (Everlasting love) , Zinnia ( lasting affection), white rose (a fresh start), blue Salvia (I think of you) as well as red Salvia (Forever mine), Heliotrope ( devotion), Fern ( fascination , secret bond of love) , gardenia (you're lovely),white camellia ( you're adorable), Daffodil ( You’re the only one, The sun shines when I’m with you), red carnation (my heart ache for you), Forget-Me-Not ( do not forget me) , Gloxinia ( love at first sight) and primrose ( can't live without you) we're amongst the flowers that he received, it went to the point that they're was a rumors that he have an admirator secret.

It was even worse on his birthdays when he would never fail to receive flowers and Anonymous gift with a card and a prank that both infuriated him and brought a smile to his face.

And it didn't even stop when he saw him again not after their reunion the first flower that he received when he came back home after having seen dazai in the dungeon was a red camellia ( love, passion and desire) " you set my heart on fire), then after their mission he received a pink camellia ( heartfelt longing for someone)" longing for you" and white roses ( heavenly, i'm worthy of you) " i'm thinking of you".

And this day on june 19th the day dazai was born , he decided that this time he will be the one to surprise him , it was easy to send an anonymous tip on a day that dazai was away on a mission with his birthday, it was also easy to send a subordunate to have the agency go on a mission to suribashi city where the subordinate dispersed a bunch of peach blossom after all he remember that when he was drunk and he asked dazai what was his favorite flower, it was this flower who mean i am your captive and your charm are unequalled that was his answer. And send others subordonate to brink dazai to an izakaya in funabashi where they put homemade amanattō,pan,natto,dango, soba, Tsukemono, tempura ,sashimi,kasutera, unagi , miso soup,tofu as well as a fruit salad with banana .

He then had others subordonate bring him to bar lupin where he paid the owner to store a curry that he bought in Osaka and to give dazai a signed manuscript of the first edition of the complete guide to suicide with never seen before annotations and another manuscript of the draft of Oda sakunosuke book that he found in an antique shop thanks to a strange calico cat as well as have him drink whisky on ice with prof glasses.

Then he have made this wild goose chase one by one with the member of the agency and even send the akutagawa siblings and hirotsu it was then easy to have him eat chazuke with his mentee but also have him enjoy many others food like Nikujaga, sukiyaki,yakitori, taiyaki,seafood hot pot and Tamago Kake Gohan.

Then he went to buy a new console and game that dazai couldn't stop talking about, as well as an expensive bottle of alcohol and booked a restaurant to a seafood restaurant renowned for his crab dishes, flower in hand he saw a smiling dazai that just left his birthday party at the agency.

But of all things what make dazai eyes sparkles was when he finally agree to wear the damned maid dress, dazai while putting a sunflower in his hair had a bright and real smile on his face that made his heart skip a beat let him know how much he apprecied his birthday and it made him happy that he can make dazai enjoy a day that he loathes so much.

[thenativetank]

VA Native Fish Hunting 27 (and 28)

This update covers a couple of trips so I apologize in advance for length! But I found some very cool finds and can't help but share.

My goal for this trip was to find some Sheepshead Minnows for my 29 gallon tank that I wanted to repurpose into a brackish tank. I thought it would be really cool to add in some local brackish green algae, some brackish fish and shrimps, and add in some local drift wood and rockwork.

I went to this location without my phone because I planned on going waist deep in water. I caught a fair number of shrimps (yay!) and no algae or Sheepshead Minnows (boo!). Funny enough, my traps only caught a single fish - and not one I expected.

The only fish I was able to find was a single Rainwater Killifish (Lucania parva). This was SO COOL and SO WEIRD because I've caught maybe a hundred fish in traps in this location and never once caught this species. My tank is perfect for him so I snatched him up.

Not a live fish find - but this Atlantic Crab shell was massive and I couldn't resist picking it up.

So I decided to maximize my chances of finding more Rainwater Killies, I would place some traps overnight and attempt to check them in the morning. Multiple drives aren't my fave but I wanted to try.

Before checking the traps the next day, I did some shark tooth hunting because, well, there are shark teeth to be found. I got a couple of fine ones (pictures at bottom) but also managed to catch this lil Squareback Marsh Crab. I have a soft spot for the little Sesarmid crabs. They always look so odd.

So I checked my traps to find...

Wow. A lot of fish. Maybe 30 or 40 fish between my three traps.

Probably 60% of them were Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) - a fave of mine in the area. They are brackish fish which would be great in my 29, but they really need a lot more room than that. They need 55 and up to be active and healthy.

Another 30% of the fish were Sheepshead Minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) - a pug like little fish that would be perfect in the 29, but they are fighters and would no doubt beat on the Rainwater killies. So back they go. For awareness, these orange and blue dudes are males.

The female Sheepshead Minnows are no slouches in the beauty department, but still possibly too mean. So back they went too.

The last 10% of fish were Mosquitofish. I sadly did not get a single Rainwater Killifish. What a bummer. Just means I will need to check other areas - maybe a kayak trip in the near future.

Bonus - I got maybe 7 shark teeth in all. Nothing too exciting, these were the 3 largest. But always kind of fun to find regardless.

[robinette-green]

Late Night Day Dreams Chapter 13:

Parts and Service

You’re the new kid in Parts and Service and your coworkers thought it would be funny to send you to the daycare without telling you about Moon’s playful tendencies

_/|\_\|/_/|\_

From deep inside one of the massive plastic play structures in the daycare, I was slowly coming to realize that the guys down in Parts and Service had decided to haze the new kid.

Me.

They’d tasked me with something seemingly very simple. Go to the daycare and bring back the daycare attendant for routine maintenance.

I’d agreed.

When I’d been giving the tour on my first day it hadn’t included the daycare and I figured this would be a great opportunity to finally get to see this part of the Plex.

No one told me that the daycare attendant doesn’t like going to Parts and Service.

No one told me that the power cycles on the hour, turning the lights off in the daycare.

No one told me that this was going to be DANGEROUS!

“Come out, come out wherever you are.” A raspy voice giggled, much closer than I would have liked.

Slowly, I army crawled through the next plastic tube, trying to stay as quiet as possible, trying to keep my breathing under control as fear clutched at my insides, trying to squeeze myself through a play structure built for children.

“Hidey hide, hide away.” The voice giggled again, a red glow illuminating the far end of the tube.

“Where are you, friend?”

I froze, eyes fixed on the red reflecting off the plastic. He was toying with me. He'd probably found me ages ago.

Tears sprung to my eyes, body shaking as I panicked, still trying to stay as silent as possible, attempting to slide backward out of the tube.

Why did it have to be the dark?

Why did it have to be clowns?

When I took this job, I thought I was going to be working with robotics in well-lit spaces, repairing animatronics with advanced AI. Not hiding from metal clown death traps trying to kill me in the dark!

“Peek a boo.” Came the sing-song voice and I watched in horror as the blue clown animatronic slowly lowered his face to the tube and started to crawl in towards me, contorting like a spider.

“No! No, no, no, no, no!!” I scrambled to slide back out of the tube, trying to get away as Moon shot forward, fingers outstretched, his eyes red eyes the only light, his fixed grin rushing towards me.

I only just managed to pull free from the tube, scraping my back against the hard plastic and slamming my shoulders and elbows against the metal bars as flung myself backward, Moon’s fingers missed me by inches.

Chest heaving with panicked gasps, I tried to scramble up to the next level. Moon was still coming, sliding easily from the tube and scuttling like a deranged crab, chest up but head turned all the way around.

“Found you!” He giggled.

“Gonna catch you!”

What would happen if he did catch me? Would he drag me away somewhere? Would he crush me? Rip me apart?

The tears were falling now, blurring my vision as I frantically made for a slide, ignoring every bruise and scrape I gained along the way.

Suddenly my leg was pulled out from under me and I slammed down, just managing to catch myself so my face didn’t bash into the plastic below me.

Looking back over my shoulder in horror, I found Moon’s red eyes looming closer, his fingers wrapped around my ankle.

“Caught you! I win!” Moon cackled, face plate spinning in mirth, then he leaned closer, the red from his eyes illuminating my face.

“Your turn.”

What?

Was he… playing?

Moon’s head ticked to the side and he leaned ever closer to me, his eyes studying my face.

“Tears?” He asked suddenly and I quickly whipped at my eyes, body still trembling.

Moon was off me like a shot, skittering backward, curling into himself, hands covering his face

Then he was gone, skittering through a tube and vanishing into the dark depths of the play structure.

Alone, I took a minute to collect myself.

Playing. He’d been playing. Moon thought this was a game and we’d been having fun.

Sweet in a way if not still massively terrifying having a robotic clown chase you in the dark.

Slowly I started to make my way out of the play structure.

“M-Moon?” I called out, looking for any sign of him, keeping an eye out for a red glow.

Trying to squeeze through one of the openings in the pay structure, I felt my belt loop catch on something, but I couldn't reach back to free it and with how I was positioned, I couldn’t back up.

“Moon?” I tried again, still not seeing any sign of him.

“Moon? I-I’m stuck. C-can you come help me? I don’t know if I can get free on my own.” I called out.

Nothing.

I tried wiggling this way and that but there was no getting free.

“Moon?? I’m- I’m not scared anymore! I didn’t realize we were playing! Please? I really need your help.”

“Lier.”

I flinched violently, Moon’s voice coming from much closer than I had expected.

“W-w-what?” I asked, voice shaking.

“I-I am stuck though.” It wasn’t a lie. There was no getting free without help.

“You’re still scared.”

I tried to see where the voice was coming from, peering around, trying to see the red glow of Moon’s eyes.

“W-well maybe a little. B-but it’s not your fault.”

Swallowing thickly, I closed my eyes to the dark. I should tell him. It would help the situation, wouldn’t it?

“Don’t laugh.”

Silence. Had he left me? Well, whatever. I’d just say it.

“I-I’m scared of the dark… and of clowns,” I mumbled.

“B-BUT! None of that is y-your fault!” I added quickly, trying to explain.

Though with how Moon had initiated play, anyone would have been scared out of their minds.

My belt loop was suddenly released and I fell forward with a small ‘oof!’

“We’re modeled after jesters, not clowns,” Moon said, arms wrapping around me as I squeaked and trembled.

I was lifted and, in moments, Moon had removed me safely from the play structure.

“W-well in the dark, you looked like a clown!” I defended myself and Moon laughed slightly, setting me down.

“Sorry for scaring you.”

I turned and looked up at the large robot crouching over me. He still looked super scary, but… maybe not as scary? I still didn’t want him crawling at me out of the dark ever again… though I had a feeling that he was going to in my near future.

“It’s… it’s okay. Just… maybe next time, ask to play a game instead of lunging at me out of the dark?”

“No promises.” Moon giggled, but I had a feeling he would be more careful in the future… at least with me.

“Right, well, I still have to bring you down to parts and service for a check-“

Moon was gone, his wire lifting him up into the dark of the daycare.

“No.”

“Moon!”

In the end, I brought my tools up to the daycare and did their checkup there.

We’ve been tentative friends ever since.

[unamused-boss]

Take out Night

Billy Hargrove x Fem oc Hello! Just before we begin this is a fic that will introduce another Oc that I have created. A Billy x Oc to be more precise. I have seen so many other creators, some whom I am mutuals with, make amazing oc. And I wanted to jump on the train with it. Plus I really want Billy to have a weird gf! So I have made a character for Billy hargrove and I hope you like her.

It was all strange when the two first got together. If you mean the Cali boy going after probably the weirdest hot girl in town then you'd be correct. Because that is what happened when Billy Hargrove asked out, and is still going out with, Phoebe Brown.

Yep, Hawkin's local weirdo. Has been seen walking bare foot within the woods. Constantly seeming like she has consumed an intense amount of drugs even though she doesn't even drink or smoke. Claiming it ruins the soul of the body. Her dark brown hair always done up in a new style. Along with her clothes matching her presence, comfortable.

It was a month long gossip train as to why Billy would ask out such a peculiar girl. Many of Billy's, so called, friends said it was because he lost a bet or was looking for something easy. But what the masses do not know it took Billy a whole month before Phoebe even said yes to a date. Billy claimed he has never liked Hawkin's heifers, as much as Phoebe has told him to stop calling them that, he wanted something he thought would bring him excitement. So when he laid eyes on Phoebe Brown, he knew it was her.

Well to get that out of the way with all the sentimental shit that we will get into later. Lets focus on where our couple is at presently. It is the middle of December for Hawkins with a blissful, not to Billy, cold outside. And in front of a little chinese food restaurant sat a charged blue camaro where our couple sits. It is just another of their many at home date nights tonight. Let's see where the night will take them.

“Do you have to do this every time?” Billy asked his girlfriend. Who at the moment has her nose deep within a menu of said Chinese restaurant. 

“Yes, what if I wanna try something new?” Phoebe said back to him, still with her face in the pamphlet of the menu. 

“Babe there is no doubt in my mind that you have not eaten the whole menu since we have discovered this restaurant.” Billy reasoned with her. “Can we please order the food so we can go back to your house”

Phoebe faced him with a smile gracing her face. “You know, for such a big strong guy, you can be very soft and cute.” The statement flusters Billy, she knows this. But he will always keep his tough guy act up till they get home. So in response to his girlfriend's statement, he turned his head away from her. Which did not help because she could see his ears turning red which meant he was blushing. Phoebe just giggled at him, “Get out of the damn car.” Was all he said to her, but not with any mean intent behind it. So that is what you did. You both got out of the car to make your way in to order your dinner for the night.

“Hey Billy, Hey Phoebe” The cashier greeted, “What can I get ya?”

“We’ll get the spicy chicken combo and spring rolls to go with it.” Billy answered to the cashier. 

“We will also take the Lo mien and crab rangoons.” Phoebe added on with confidence.

“Um, who paid?” Billy sassed to her.

“Um, who’s job is it to pay?” She simply sassed back. “I also paid for your gas, be a good boyfriend and pay for your girlfriend's dinner.” Billy just rolled his eyes to her.

“Alright coming right up.” That was all that needed to be said for the two to take their seats in front of the window to wait on their food.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Phoebe asked.

“Okay, hit me.” Billy said thinking it was gonna be a challenge.

“Why did you ask me out?” She asked simply.

Billy was silent for a minute. “This isn’t a trap is it? Last time this happened my tire got slashed.” Billy panicked.

“No it’s not… I just- I just think there is someone more suited for you than me.” Phoebe admitted.

“What like some cow on the cheer team?” Billy said very aggressively.

“Billy- I’m serious.”

“The reason I asked you out was because you were different from every other girl I have ever dated.” Billy told her, looking into her honey colored eyes.

“But-”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” He stopped her. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and if I had to go another month of chasing you around to simply look in my direction then I will. I know I’m not the best guy, but you have made me realize that I will do whatever it takes for us to stay together.” Billy’s eyes softened as he looked at her. Phoebe's once tired looking eyes became wide while staring at Billy as he spoke. No guy has ever said something like that to her. Yeah, she knows she’s weirded Billy out before but he still stayed with her.

“Billy” She spoke softly, a smile making its way onto her face. He smiled back at her, taking her hand into his on the table. 

“Order 37!” Was shouted out, to which brought the couple out of their trance.

Once the food was picked up. The couple made their way to the camaro to go home. The drive was silent, it was warm and comfortable. Just the quiet tone of one of Billy’s rock tapes playing from the window. As Phoebe was looking out the window to the dark outside of the night. She saw the glimmer of snow, she gasped as her eyes lit up. Even though it had snowed for the past few weeks, with every new snowfall Phoebe got excited. She loved the cold weather unlike her boyfriend. Billy heard her small gasp from beside him; he made a small glance over to her to see she was staring out the window. He just smiled at her expression, he couldn’t have asked for anyone better. The couple usually didn’t express too much emotion in front of others, not too heavy on pda other than a quickie in the janitor's closet. But the nights such as these were Billy could get away from his house to go home with her. To spend the night cuddling and watching trash movies they can make fun of. It was pure bliss for Billy, He loved it  He loved her.

The car came to a stop in Phoebe’s driveway. With her parents out of the house for the next few days that meant more time with Billy, and being able to eat in the living room. The food was set out on the coffee table, blankets were prepped, movies prepped to be watched, and Billy’s side ready for Phoebe to cuddle into. The chosen pick from the Family Video  tonight were American Ninja, obviously Billy, and Smooth Talk, clearly picked out by Phoebe, the two had very distinct tastes. The two watched and ate with glee for being in the other mere presence. In the middle of one of the movies Billy pauses it out of nowhere.

“Heey?” Phoebe said in confusion to his action.

Billy turned to her, now her side is cold. “Why did you ask me that question at the restaurant tonight?” Billy was curious. He wanted to make sure no one said anything to her and so she wasn’t in her head.

“I just- I just started thinking about the types of girls you went after before you got with me.” She said, “And I felt like I was a downgrade.” Hearing this broke his heart. “ I’m noy like Tammy, Tina, or Nancy… It's stupid but I can’t help but feel insecure sometimes. You were told about me from people that judged me and still chose me after everything. I just don’t get it sometimes.”

“Like I said before, you are unlike any girl I have ever been with, and I love it. I love you.” Billy said.

“You said the L word.” Phoebe giggled at him. Billy’s smile broke out after you said that.

“What are you gonna punish me?” He teased. In response Phoebe places her soft lips onto Hargroves. It felt like a puzzle being completed when they kissed. Phoebe became more forward and started to slowly push Billy back until he was on his back while she was sitting on him still kissing on her couch. The kiss slowed and the two started to pull away. Looking at one another for a moment. Until a sly smirk appeared on Billy’s face.

“I should say the L word more often if that’s my punishment.” He flirted. Phoebe just laughed at him then pulled him up right to continue where they left off. In the movie obviously. Billy played the movie and Phoebe snuggled back into his side.

“Just so you know.” Phoebe started. “I love you too.” Billy smiled and kissed the top of her head. The night was perfect, as always.

Hope you enjoyed! Like always if you have feed back I would love to hear it.

if you wanna see anything specifically with Billy and Phoebe just request or comment.

Thank you, love ya bookies!

[son1c]

rouge wins the prize of "most trustworthy person sonic has met so far" by default

falling stars fic masterpost

The bat Mobian was deathly silent. The whole room, in fact, had suddenly become a void of noise. The only sounds to be heard were the soft hums of the fluorescent lights, and the bubbles lazily rising in the tank in the middle of the floor.

With an icy glare, the bat Mobian looked at Sonic. His accusation felt like a slap in the face. "What do you know? You're just another one of Eggman's toys." She adjusted the bands on her wrists protectively. Almost like she was daring Sonic to take them from her. "Shadow is gone, sweetheart. You can't steal from the dead."

Sonic shook his head. He felt dizzy from the sudden resurgence of memories--memories that his ruptured code couldn't hold back anymore. In his mind's eye, he saw Shadow, asleep in the pod in the basement. Now, it made sense why his wickedness, Doctor Eggman--blech, no. Let's try that again.

It made sense why Mr. Ivo didn't want him going down there. He would've broken free from the doctor's vice immediately if he'd seen Stripes. And Omega was down there, too. Trapped behind that locked door. Sonic felt himself growing angry just thinking about it.

The Robian said, "You're wrong. He's alive, and I can prove it!"

With her hands balled into fists, the bat spat, "This isn't a very nice trick, Blue. Even for an Eggman robot--it's low."

"I'm not a--" Sonic started to say, but stopped. He looked down at his hands. They were made of steel and screwed together with bolts. His argument held no water. Right now, he was an Eggman robot.

But it didn't matter. Robian or Mobian, Sonic wasn't gonna let this thief walk out of here with Shadow's inhibitor rings. And once he got them back, he was going to break his friend out of the basement, and then they would leave. Whatever information the doctor still had about their pasts wasn't worth being at his mercy.

However, before Sonic could charge at the bat, a badnik appeared at the base of the hole that had been smashed into the wall during their fight. It wasn't the motobug with the star on its head; it was a caterkiller that Sonic had saved from falling into the trash compactor last week. It looked worried.

Then, a buzzy bomber appeared. The same one that Sonic had caught after it flew into a live wire that caused its wings to lock up. And after that, a pair of eye stalks peeked over the ruined wall. They belonged to the crabmeat that somehow always managed to fall over and get stuck on its back. Luckily, Sonic had been there to pick it up and flip it back onto its feet every time that happened.

When Rouge saw what Sonic was looking at, she tensed. She knew this place was crawling with robots. She'd seen them when she'd snuck in. But that was why she'd been sneaky--so she didn't have to fight all of them. And now it looked like she was going to have to deal with a whole motley crew.

"Phoning in friends already?" Rouge asked the Robian. She kept her voice light and casual, despite the danger. "That's hardly fair. But you're gonna have to try a little harder than that to intimidate me!"

Sonic ignored her. He actually took his eyes off her entirely, so he could look down at the caterkiller and crabmeat that were now at his feet. The buzzy bomber joined them, although this badnik chose to perch on his head instead. It buzzed at him insistently.

"Sorry, guys, but you gotta go," Sonic said. He attempted to shoo the badniks out of the room, but they didn't budge. "I'm kinda in the middle of something right now, and it's not safe for--"

While Sonic was distracted, Rouge attempted to stomp on the crab robot. Take out the easy ones first, then worry about the big guy, she figured. But she was unsuccessful. Sonic caught her boot with one hand, and shot her a red hot glare.

"Leave them out of it," he said, his robotic voice crackling. "You want to fight? Fine. Waste your time. Just don't forget who you're up against!"

Sonic's grip on Rouge's boot tightened. Then, he grabbed her leg with his other hand, and spun her around, before letting go. She sailed through the air and crashed into one of the computers lined up against the wall. When she tried to push herself back up, her hand caught on a switch, and flipped it down.

The tank in the middle of the room started boiling like the water inside was being heated by lava. But Rouge ignored it, her eyes focused on the strange blue robot that was still glaring at her from across the room. She'd never seen anything like him before. It was already a rarity for Eggman robots to be able to talk, but to be protective over other bots? That was unheard of.

And he'd mentioned Shadow. But there was no way he was serious. She'd seen it herself, through the windows of the Ark--Shadow had fallen to earth, along with the blue hero. They were both dead.

Right?

"Let's get back on topic, hmm?" the bat said, a little tightly. She didn't want to think about that bad memory anymore. "I'm here for Eggman's secret treasure. Should be behind a big locked door. Ring a bell?"

Sonic frowned. The only locked door he knew about had Shadow behind it.

Rouge saw his expression change and smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, though. It was greedy. "Perfect!" she said. Her wings stretched out behind her. "Thanks for the confirmation. Now, are you going to tell me where it is? Or should I get my hacking gear ready for after our little dance? I'll get that information out of you one way or another!"

The crabmeat snapped its claws in Rouge's direction, and the caterkiller hissed at her. The buzzy bomber trilled threateningly.

Sonic stepped in front of the badniks, so that he was between them and the bat. He glowered at her. "You want what's in that room?" he asked. He might've been willing to take her there before, but not anymore. Not now that she'd threatened the badniks. "You better get used to wanting. Cuz you're outta luck! Those inhibitor rings are the only things that'll be changing hands!"

Rouge's smile faltered. The rings again, huh?

Sonic rocketed forward. He attempted to grab the bat's shoulders, but she was expecting it this time, and caught him by the wrists. Using his own momentum against him, she hurled him into the frothing tank in the middle of the room. He hit the water and sank to the bottom of the tank like a stone, momentarily disoriented.

The three badniks screeched. They charged at Rouge, their various blades and pincers ready to run her through like a shish kebab. Rouge turned to face them, prepared to defend herself.

But they never collided. The Roboticizer, with someone now inside of it, activated. A bright white light filled the room, and Rouge had to cover her eyes with her arm to keep from being blinded. She and the badniks flinched at the horrible noise emanating from the machine, a noise that sounded like rusted brakes, metal on metal.

And then, as quickly as it began, it was over. The water drained from the tank, and Sonic, no longer a Robian, was laying flat on the floor of the machine, shivering.

It was cold. So cold.

Rouge covered her mouth with her hand. She was shocked. No one could've survived falling from space. Not even Sonic the Hedgehog. That was what she'd thought, anyway. Even when Sonic's little fox friend insisted upon the contrary; she stayed realistic. And so the possibility that, this whole time, Sonic was alive and had been captured by Doctor Eggman had never even crossed her mind.

But if he was here, then that could mean Shadow was, too.

Rouge set her jaw. She ignored the black smoke pouring out of the cables hanging from the ceiling and flew into the tank. "Hey there, Big Blue," she said, offering her hand to him. "Long time no see. No hard feelings about our little spat, right?"

Sonic forced himself up onto his elbows. It felt like the world was spinning, but he was tough. Tougher than post de-Roboticization sensory overload. He pried his eyes open. Looked at Rouge. She looked back at him, her own eyes widening a bit.

"You're no good at first impressions, lady," Sonic said, his voice hoarse. Still, he grabbed her hand and pulled himself up onto his feet, using the wall of the tank to keep himself steady. "But if you're done trying to dismantle me, I won't complain."

Curiously, Rouge looked Sonic over. "I think I get it," she said after a second. "You don't remember anything, huh?"

"I remember plenty," Sonic said, a little annoyed. He hoped this exchange wouldn't happen every time he met someone from his past. "Like those rings. You gotta hand 'em over. Stripes needs 'em back, pronto!"

Rouge raised an eyebrow at the nickname. "Stripes?" she repeated.

"Yeah, you know, black hedgehog. Red stripes. The name's pretty on-the-nose, if you ask me." Sonic remembered what Eggman had told him before, that Rouge couldn't be reasoned with. But the doctor had turned out to be a scoundrel, so maybe he was lying about her. "He's in trouble. Without those rings, he'll be in deep water. You gotta give them back!"

Rouge glanced at the badniks on the other side of the glass. They looked like they wanted to kill her.

But only her.

She turned her attention back toward Sonic. "Usually I'd ask a pretty hefty price for something like this," she said with a dramatic sigh, "but since you saved the world and all, I'll cut you a deal. Consider it a 'thank you,' from me to you." With one twist of her wrists, she removed the inhibitor rings. But she didn't hand them over to Sonic just yet. "You can have these, on one condition."

Sonic looked from Rouge's face, to the rings, and then back to Rouge. "Better make it count," he said.

Rouge gestured to the badniks with one of her wings. "You keep those bots off my back. All of them. The only thing I want to worry about while I'm here is how much loot I'll walk away with! Not how many nails I'll break fending off Eggman's guard dogs."

"Deal," Sonic said. His opinion on Rouge was still pretty low, but if she was willing to give up Shadow's inhibitor rings without a fight, then maybe she wasn't the absolute worst.

Rouge smirked. "Glad we could work something out!"

The bat handed Sonic the inhibitor rings, and he wasted no time pulling them onto his own wrists. Then, Rouge watched as he jumped out of the tank, and knelt in front of the badniks on the other side of the glass. He said something to them. Flashed them a thumbs up. They all looked at Rouge, still angry, but not outright murderous anymore.

The bat was a little surprised. She’d thought that, now that Sonic wasn’t a Robian anymore, he would go right back to destroying Eggman robots like he used to. That was what she’d meant when she told him to keep them off her back, anyway. But maybe his fall had changed him more than she’d realized. Not that it mattered to her—so long as the badniks left her alone, he was staying true to his end of the bargain.

Sonic motioned for her to come out of the tank. Rouge did so, a little warily. But the badniks stayed where they were, at Sonic’s side. The buzzy bomber was on his head again. It glared at the bat, but all of the anger left its expression when Sonic stood up, and the robot looked down at him, its electronic eyes now big and wide. Like she wasn’t even there.

"We're gonna need to go all the way down to the bottom of this place to get to that door," Sonic told Rouge. "It'll be faster if we skip the lift, but it's a long drop to the basement. Think you can handle it?"

With a hand on her hip, Rouge easily replied, "If the only thing standing in between me and Eggman's treasure is an elevator shaft, he can kiss his riches goodbye!"

It took some convincing, but Sonic was able to get the caterkiller and crabmeat to wait for them at the top of the lift. Originally, he was going to tell the buzzy bomber to wait there too, but then he realized he didn't have rockets inside of his shoes anymore. So, when he and Rouge jumped down into the dark elevator shaft, he did so while holding onto the wasp robot's abdomen.

Once they reached the deepest part of the Brain Bowl, they stepped out of the elevator shaft and onto the basement landing. Sonic let go of the buzzy bomber and looked around. There were three branching hallways to choose from, but luckily, Sonic remembered which one led to the room that was locked behind the blast door. He started toward it immediately, with Rouge trailing not far behind.

When they got there, they were faced with their next problem: the door. The only way to unlock it was with Eggman's handprint. But maybe if he had a running start, he could--

"Hey, kid," Rouge said, derailing Sonic's train of thought. "You still with me? The lock's almost cracked. Make sure you're ready for whatever's inside."

Sonic blinked. He looked over at the keypad, and saw Rouge standing in front of it with a small black device in her hand that she had plugged into the wall. So, her comment about hacking into his systems earlier wasn't a joke, huh? Sonic suppressed a shudder.

Then, the keypad changed from red to green, and the blast door slowly started rising. Sonic turned toward the buzzy bomber floating by his shoulder, and said, "Be right back."

The wasp robot circled his head, buzzing indignantly.

Sonic gave it a lopsided grin. "Hey, that's not true! Who else is gonna watch the door, huh?"

Rouge pocketed her hacking gear and glanced over at Sonic and the buzzy bomber. She frowned, but didn't say anything.

By the time the door had lifted three feet off the ground, Sonic had joined Rouge in front of it. She nodded at him, and they both ducked inside the room. It looked exactly how Sonic remembered it. Same gray interior, same blinking machinery stacked around, some of it tall enough to touch the ceiling. And the green pod, glowing faintly, still holding Shadow inside.

However, before he or Rouge could make any moves toward it, Omega jolted to life. His rage from being locked down here for so long was palpable, practically microwaving the air around him. And when he saw Sonic, the settings were cranked up from defrost to high wattage in a nanosecond. He pointed his blasters at the blue hedgehog and opened fire.

"ELIMINATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS."

[gumnut-logic]

His giggle was infectious.

His little brother leapt from rock to rock, darting to peer into every pool he encountered, several times exclaiming at his discoveries and nattering off some long Latin name that meant absolutely nothing to Virgil. How one mollusc differed from another was something for a biologist to decide, not an artist.

Of course, every now and again, a shell would be shoved in his face, and the colours would catch his eyes. Virgil would take the shell, listen to the babbling, and stare at the pinks and oranges, calculate what he could do with those colours and then surreptitiously slide the found object into his pocket.

His pocket was clinking as he walked over the rocks.

The crab that was shoved in his face was a whole different kettle of crustacean. “Hey, Gords, c’mon, I want to keep my nose attached to my face.”

“Virg, it’s only a common rock crab. And a little one at that.” The so called common bearer of claws waved them in anger at Virgil.

“Yeah, well, can you put it back where it belongs? It looks ticked off at your interruption of its day.”

His little brother crouched back down at the edge of a larger rock pool and returned the crab to its hidey-hole.

They were on holiday.

Well, technically on holiday. Dad was still working and had disappeared for the day, leaving Scott in charge. The terrible two had immediately taken advantage of that fact and proceeded to make everyone’s life hell.

Before his eighteen year old brother could blow a fuse, Virgil had intervened and offered to take ten year old Gordon down to the shore for some rock pooling. It was an activity Virgil could tolerate, even enjoy, and it separated the synergy of the two youngest.

The relief in Scott’s eyes had been worth it.

No doubt, either Scott or John would be having the pleasure of setting up Alan’s backyard rocket set at this very moment.

Hopefully Scott, otherwise John would be adapting the mechanics and the silly thing would actually reach orbit, never be seen again and the wailing from their youngest would last the rest of the weekend.

But shells, crabs and the occasional anemone was Virgil’s concern at the moment.

The coastline was some kind of limestone and consequently peppered with holes for the receding tide to leave trapped sea creatures behind.

A sudden yell of “Sand goby!” and Virgil was dragged over to see a tiny fish barely two inches long and the same colour as the sand it was sitting on staring up at the two of them.

“I saw them darting about, but this one is the first to stay still enough. Look at those eyes!”

Looked like a tiny lizard of the sea.

Gordon touched the surface of the water and the fish disappeared in a cloud of displaced sand.

“Look how fast they are!” A glance at his brother and he found him literally buzzing with excitement.

“When we get back to the house, you can look it up. Did you get a photo?”

Gordon grinned up at him, brandishing the camera in his hand. “Yep. Wait until I show, Scotty.”

Virgil snorted. Scott knew even less than Virgil about ocean fauna, but he would love to see Gordon so excited.

Scott was a sucker for happy brothers.

As Gordon scampered over to the next rock pool, Virgil had to admit he quite enjoyed seeing Gordon like this, too.

“Woah! Virg, come look at this!”

Rolling his eyes, Virgil straightened and followed obediently, stepping from outcrop to outcrop to crouch beside his almost vibrating brother.

Gordon was pointing at a rock.

“What am I looking at, Gordon. All I see is rock.”

“Watch this.” Gordon stuck a finger into the water and prodded the ‘rock’.

It lit up in bright blue rings.

Now, Virgil didn’t know much about sea life, but he did know about this particular life form.

He grabbed Gordon’s arm and Gordon himself and yanked him away from the rock pool. Unfortunately, that unbalanced the both of them and they promptly fell into the rock pool next door.

Considering what they had just encountered, Virgil was none too happy about this state of affairs and, spluttering, staggered to his feet, dragging his protesting little brother as far away from the offending puddle of water as he could.

“Virgil! What? Why? Lemme go!”

“Gordon, you know exactly what that is. Why the hell did you touch it?!”

“It won’t hurt me! And it is amazing. Lemme go! I’ve never seen one before and I want to look at it some more!”

“You are not going anywhere near it. In fact, we are getting off this beach right now!”

“Aww, Virg, c’mon! It won’t hurt us!”

“It’s a blue-ringed octopus Gordon! It bites you, you’re dead!”

“It’s not going to bite me!”

“It looked angry enough after you poked it. Why the hell did you poke it?”

“Uh, to see the rings? It’s amazing.”

“It’s a deadly octopus!”

“God, Virg, get over it. I know what I’m doing.”

“Yeah, well, I know what I’m doing and I’m taking you back to the house where you can explain to Scott exactly what you were doing.”

“Aww, Virgil, please. I thought you were the cool one. The one who understood.”

Virgil blinked. “What?”

And his brother sagged before him. “I thought you understood.”

“Understood what?”

“How much fun this is.”

A frown and Virgil’s heart slowed a little. Gordon’s head had dropped and he was looking at the ground. “Gordon?”

“You, Virgil. All the others just talk about planes and space and flying. You’re the only one who listens to me when I talk about this stuff.”

His frown deepened and he reached out a hand and placed it on his little brother’s shoulder.

“I’m always the odd one out. Everyone else wants to go to the military museums, not the natural history museums. You always stand up for me and come with me. I know you don’t like it as much as I do, but you help.”

Okay, so his little brother knew how to get into his heart and twist it. Of course, this was Gordon and the little rat had his ways, but the honesty on his face was plain and it got inside Virgil’s softy sixteen year old heart.

Virgil sighed. “Okay, I get it. You have a point.” Though he had to admit, Virgil had dragged Scott through a number of art museums in the past. The boredom on his brother’s face had been epic, but Scott had done it for him.

A sigh. “I’ll make you a deal. No prodding deadly wildlife. You take note and step out of harm’s way. For both your health and mine.” And the rest of the family’s.

Russet brown eyes caught the sun and literally bloomed in excitement. His brother’s innate bouncing resumed. “Deal!”

Virgil rolled his eyes and let his brother go. Gordon didn’t give him a chance to change his mind and darted off towards the nearest rock pool.

He stood there and watched his little brother dart from pool to pool and after a moment, before he could get too far away, resumed his unhurried stroll down the beach with him.

He did understand his little brother and he appreciated his fascination with all things sea and he would help him reach those places that he loved.

Latin bounced down the beach towards him and Virgil grinned.

Ten minutes later. “Ooh, look, Virg, it is just like a miniature box jellyfish!” 

Wha-?

Virgil ran.

-o-o-o-

If you are interested in what Gordon found have a look here. And yes, I have encountered them and been stung by them. Rather unpleasant :D

[thoughtsonhurtandcomfort]

Zodiac Themed Whump Prompts

Thanks for the idea @funky-little-torturer !

These can be interpreted as individual prompts, groups of prompts, or just ~vibes. They're intended to be open to interpretation!

(astrology info source)

☆☆☆☆

Aries - The Ram - Element: Fire - Ruler: Mars - Season: Spring - Metal: Iron - Stone: Diamond - Color: Red

Keywords: independent, aggressive, impatient, combative, assertive

Scalding

Scrape

Failed escape

Punishment

Mauled

Metal

Taurus - The Bull - Element: Earth - Ruler: Venus - Season: Spring - Metal: Copper - Stone: Emerald - Color: Green

Keywords: persevering, stable, stubborn, possessive, physical

Ownership

Breaking

Rough landing

Survival

Illness

Buried

Gemini - The Twins - Element: Air - Ruler: Mercury - Season: Spring - Metal: Mercury - Stone: Agate - Color: Yellow

Keywords: adaptable, flexible, responsive, sociable, inquisitive

Abandoned

Stress position

Experiment

Isolation

Narrow escape

Suffocating

Cancer - The Crab - Element: Water - Ruler: the Moon - Season: Summer - Metal: Silver - Stone: Pearl - Color: White

Keywords: gentle, feeling, nurturing, defensive, contemplative

Sharp

Vulnerable

Fighting back

Tended to

Shock

Pouring

Leo - The Lion - Element: Fire - Ruler: The Sun - Season: Summer - Metal: Gold - Stone: Ruby - Color: Gold

Keywords: bold, caring, driven, open, passionate

Traps

Hanging on

Human shield

Feverish

Endurance

Bound

Virgo - The Virgin - Element: Earth - Ruler: Mercury - Season: Summer - Metal: Mercury - Stone: Sapphire - Color: Blue

Keywords: analytical, intelligent, reserved, critical, helpful

Merciful

Brutality

Deprived

Fading

Manipulation

Unsteady

Libra - The Scales - Element: Air - Ruler: Venus - Season: Fall - Metal: Copper - Stone: Marble - Color: Pink

Keywords: just, refined, diplomatic, indecisive, artistic

Heavy

Lost

Imprisoned

Headache

Revenge

Stumble

Scorpio - The Scorpion - Element: Water - Ruler: Pluto - Season: Fall - Metal: Steel - Stone: Citrine - Color: Purple

Keywords: perceptive, resourceful, determined, fixed, focused

Pressure

Poison

Ruthless

Pinned down

Tight Grip

Chain

Sagittarius - The Archer - Element: Fire - Ruler: Jupiter - Season: Fall - Metal: Tin - Stone: Topaz Color: Turquoise

Keywords: optimistic, restless, adventurous, honest, irresponsible

Accident

Awake

Hunted

Puncture

Out of breath

Falling apart

Capricorn - The Goat - Element: Earth - Ruler: Saturn - Season: Winter - Metal: Lead - Stone: Garnet - Color: Brown

Keywords: tenacious, resourceful, disciplined, prudent, constant

Hiding

Shiver

Fracture

Thirst

Strained

Endless

Aquarius - The Water-bearer - Element: Air - Ruler: Uranus - Season: Winter - Metal: Uranium - Stone: Amethyst - Color: Sky Blue

Keywords: assertive, inventive, eccentric, idealistic, detached

Icy

Blunt force

Improvised weapon

Sobs

Storm

Cough

Pisces - The Fish - Element: Water - Ruler: Neptune - Season: Winter - Metal: Tin - Stone: Jade - Color: Sea Green

Keywords: intuitive, dreamy, sensitive, perceptive, tender

Bait

Ropes

Submerged

Faint

Nightmares

Bruises

[thehollowwriter]

Warnings: Blood, cannibalism

Key: Regular text is for the present. Bold is for journal entries/writing, italics is for flashbacks

(Pls reblog and leave a comment ❤️)

Lamentations Pt 2

Finally, Silas had time to himself. The parchment was pulled from its hiding place, and the pen was taken into his hand. Taking a breath, he pressed the tip against the page.

-There isn't much to say about the time leading to my late teens. ... Well, that's not entirely true.

When I was fourteen, I received an acceptance letter from Night Raven College, one of the magic schools on the surface. I don't know how that happened, but I've always suspected that my grandfather managed to get an application in when he went on one of his rare swims to the main city. I will never know for sure.

I never accepted the letter. I regret that deeply, if I'm honest. I could have done with the opportunity such a high and prestigious level of schooling could have granted me.

"Silas. This arrived for you."

Silas turned his from the crab he was stuffing and narrowed his eyes at the letter his grandfather was holding out to him. He muttered something and reluctantly took it with a bony, peeling hand, sliding a claw across the seal and pulling out the sleek black paper from inside.

It reeked of magic, likely enchanted to keep it from taking water damage, and scrawled in perfect gold cursive was a letter of... acceptance.

Amethyst eyes, dulled with exhaustion, scanned through the contents with an unreadable expression.

"You should go." His grandfather said softly. "This could you get you out of this hovel."

Silas' face, sunken in and hollow, twisted into an expression of disgust.

"So they can spear me on a harpoon? Not a chance."

"Silas -"

A tail, sickly pale purple, almost grey, in hue and littered with still healing bites and gashes, coiled defensively.

"We're not pretty fish to them." Silas hissed. "We're not merpeople like the mermaid princess. We're sea monsters. I'll be run through before I even get legs. Remember what happened to Mei? Going up there is like crawling into a fishing net."

The mention of Silas' late sister made his grandfather wince.

"That was a fluke, you-"

"I'm not going." Silas snarled. He gripped the letter tightly, and his eyes burned a bright purple. The pretty piece of paper crumpled into nothing, and the remains were swept away by the current. "I'm not going to spend four years surrounded by humans. I'll find my own way out of here."

Other than that? It was the same as always. Hunt, sleep, try not to die, maybe eat, repeat.

I despised it. Hated it. The endless loop of hunger and terror was maddening.

We didn't have the money to buy regular food. We could make a number of things ourselves using kelp, seagrass, and seaweed, but they were more abundant closer to the surface and difficult for us to get a hold of.

As far as meat went, we had few options. We could catch the few fish, molluscs, or crustaceans that flutter by or simply use the abundance of the flesh of our enemies, and that was about it. Seals, penguins, and other creatures were too close to the surface as well.

It was an impossible situation be in. I felt trapped,ike there was no purpose for my existence and no escape from this hell. Death was inevitable. One day, I would slip up. One day, my spells might fail, or my teeth won't penetrate. One day, I would die, be briefly mourned, then forgotten.

I was drowning in a pit of hopelessness. The grief from the loss of my parents and Grandpapa only served to further drag me under. I was lost. Suffering.

That is, until I was granted an unexpected opportunity.

"Mister?"

The sudden voice in the quiet made Silas go still, fins twitching. He slowly turned his head towards the sound and narrowed his eyes, tightening his hold on the large seal carcass in his hands.

A young girl hovered at the mouth of the cave Silas had crammed himself into, gazing at him with a pair of bright blue eyes. She was a pup, no older than five or so, though it was difficult to discern her species in the dark.

Silas licked the blood from his teeth and silently wondered if it would be worth the effort to eat the scrawny thing, only to be startled by what happened next.

A small trembling hand presented a number of small golden discs. ...Madol?

"For your catch, please, Mister."

Silas put down the seal and warily swam out of the cave to peer at coins, taking them from the child's hand to scrutinise them.

They were real, alright. And it was, quite frankly, a shocking amount of money by Abyss standards (which really wasn't much at all).

Silas tapped his claws against them and stared down at the girl in a mix of disbelief and pity.

"I'm going to be benevolent and warn you once, girl. You're better off keeping these. Catch your own food."

The girl shook her head, alarmed. "Nuh-uh!" She exclaimed. Her voice was shrill and high pitched and made Silas wince. "Grammy said - said we can't waste energy on hunting. Said you're someone to buy from, that you're a good hunter, n' you prep prey well."

Silas' mouth dropped open surprise, and he glanced back at the skinned and gutted seal in his cave, most of it stored in a bag fashioned from kelp. It was certainly big enough to fuel a number of people and prevent the need to hunt for a while, though he planned to share it with his grandfather when he returned home.

"...Who's your 'Grammy', pup?" He asked slowly, looking around in case the girl's family was nearby. Surely, they wouldn't send such a small thing out alone to bargain with him, right?

Right?

"Um... it's I-Isolde Roda, Mister."

Silas nearly choked on his own spit at the name. He wrapped his tail around the child and pulled her close, pressing a claw against her jugular.

"Don't play stupid games with me, pup." He hissed.

Tears filled those bright, innocent eyes, and a little whimper sounded. "I-I'm not! I'm not! I swear!"

Silas briefly considered casting a truth spell on the brat, but it was unlikely even a juvenile pup would be so foolish as to namedrop the most powerful and feared dweller of the abyss, let alone lie about being a part of her family.

Sillas released her and crossed his arms.."She wants to buy the seal from me, then?"

A nod. Then, a shake of the head.

"Um- yes but a-also no. Grammy wants to buy from you any time we need food. My momma's got a clutch on the way, and she wants to put our energy towards prot- protecting."

The little one stumbled over her words, struggling to articulate them. It was complex for a small child. No doubt she had practised this.

Silas tilted his head to the side, listening, and then his eyes widened in sudden realisation. This... this was a job. This was an honest to seven job opportunity.

He clutched the coins tight and swam back inside to deposit them into the bag, then came back out with about a quarter of the seal. He held it out to the girl.

"I went through hell to kill this. Tell Lady Roda that if she wants to by any more from me, I'll be demanding a hunting party."

I know there are some who would hate the fact that they got a career through sheer dumb luck, but I don't have such overt pride in myself. I consider it a miracle, really.

Lady Roda's daughter just happened to have a clutch, her granddaughter just happened to survive the trip to my hunting grounds without being eaten, then just happened to make it back home in piece, and there just happened to be a number of hunters at the Roda family's disposal.

So many impossible little miracles came together for me. Surely, the Sea Witch saw fit to grant me reprieve from my struggles. Mostly.

It was this encounter that granted me the ability to become a butcher. It didn't happen immediately, of course. At the start, I was more of as hunter gatherer of sorts, but soon, word spread about my little "business," and I found myself with a number of customers clamouring to buy from me.

There is a little town called Midway. It, fittingly, is slap bang in between the Coral Sea's border and the plunge into the Abyss. It is one of the few places in which Abyss dwellers are safe, a place to buy what you need if you're lucky enough to have the money.

I, after a lot of saving and bargaining, was able to buy a two story building there to set up a more permanent shop after about five years. I was not wealthy by any means, it was just that the price was already dirt cheap due to the location.

My grandfather and I lived on the top floor, crammed into a space that was tiny even for cookie-cutter sharks like us. The lower floor was my workspace, and when I wasn't hunting, I spent hours prepping and selling meat.

As wonderful as it was to have my own paid staff to assist me and to no longer be moving from cave to hole to crevice, it was difficult for me to live there.

I was still struggling with the loss of my family, the declining health of my grandfather, and my own health issues as well. Despite the new abundance of food, I was still malnourished and sickly, and trying to make up for the nutrients I was lacking in only made me throw up. I did not trust the doctors in the town enough to see them. They were city folk and very human looking.

We still suffered attacks and raids, although it was a little rarer, and because of the location, we had to deal with city guards paying a visit to ensure I wasn't "poisoning the meat".

It was leagues better than my previous situation, so the feeling of despair plaguing me made me feel selfish. Vain. Here I was with my dreams coming true, and I was miserable. Unhappy. The lingering sense of doom had settled over me once again, despite it all.

Things changed, however, when I met Morrigan Clearcove.

The pen clattered onto the desk. Silas stared at the name and swallowed. His hands trembled, and his eyes stung. Swallowing, he pushed the paper away from him and put his head in his hands.

He couldn't. He couldn't write it. He didn't want to. He doesn't ever want to. But he had to. He had to.

Maybe he will try again tomorrow, when he felt stable enough to handle what came next.

...........................................

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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the next chapter of the Papa Clearcove lore dump! I had fun writing this! Stay tuned~

Tagging: @distant-velleity @kitwasnothere @theleechyskrunkly @krenenbaker @cynthinesia @jaylleoo14 @whspermy-name @officialdaydreamer00