#but the rest of me is just a little hermit crab

[cosmicgesture]

I'm gonna make my own post about this, but regarding the ever decreasing number of comments on things like AO3 and even commentary and reblogs on tumblr posts:

I think some of it might be coming from a state of hyper-vigilance regarding what is appropriate, what is allowed. It's not just a case of we don't want to be perceived as cringe; it's also a case of not wanting to over step boundaries, wary of creating an impression of over-familiarity, wondering where that sweet spot of acceptable distance is, which is different for everyone.

When you don't know where the social boundaries are, it's safer to say nothing. Leaving kudos or likes or even reblogging with only descriptive tags is a safe, stealthy way of saying "I like this" without having to jump the hoops and hurdles of "I don't know what is appropriate to say to this person."

I think about this aspect because this is how I am specifically, and it occurred to me that I might not be the only one. If I consider leaving a comment on something, I spend hours scrolling through other comments or digging around to find the author's social media and see if they've answered asks, and how they were answered, trying to gauge what kind of wording would be acceptable and not cause some disgust or discomfort. I don't want to come off as mean with some joke, I can't come off as overly-familiar because the author and I are not Friends, but some mindless throwaway line seems ingenuine, sometimes a play by play works but talking to the characters rather than the author is ??? (either fine or wildly unwelcome), are keysmashes still appropriate or is that not okay anymore? Does this person like that kind of response? What if they don't?

etc. etc. etc.

Idk where I was going with this, just thoughts. And maybe it's just me that's like this, and I do sure feel damn guilty about it.

[dollfacedsl1ut]

Crystal Moon

dynamic: g!p ning x siren!fem reader

synonsis: ningning went to a nearby beach to clear her mind but there’s a unexpected visitor who she meets along the way

warnings: dubcon, manipulation, exhibition, seduction, dacryphilia (crying), begging, overstimulation, both are dominate at one point, Ning is a little depressed lmk if I’m missing smth !!!!

wc: 1,329 or 1.3k

A/N: in honor of my LONNGGGGG awaited return I’ve made something new plus I’m accepting bg requests!!

The old sand molted the shape of ningning feet as she walked along the beachside, this was the only way she would be able to think, everything was just so clouded in her mind and she needed to catch a break, whether it was paparazzi or stalkers following her it was all too much, this beach reminded her of the good times she had as a kid although it looked different….. it was windier and cloudy all the time not a lick off sun in sight..

Ning rested against a large rock near the ocean the tidal waves marking their path in the brown sand, her eyes felted heavy as she glanced at the empty vodka bottle she had tucked away in her jacket, she knew she’d have to go back and face reality eventually but a little break wouldn’t hurt anyone

She let her eyes close for a brief second before a a sweet yet seductive tune played in her head, maybe it was the alcohol she thought over and over until the rhythm changed…”Yeah theres no way I’m dreaming” she thought as her legs dangled from the large rock, the tune got louder and more intense but the voice of whatever it was made her head foggy, foggier than it was before it was mind controlling in a way, she counted complain it was such as beautiful thing to hear but she felt like it was the only thing she heard the sound of the ocean water hitting the rocks gone, the sound of the birds chirping and flapping their wings erased, just the tune was heard, yeah she was in denial until a dark figure was seen moving from under the wooden brown bridge in front of her.

Maybe her suspicions were true she’s not dreaming…but in fact hallucinating Ning groaned as she lifted her body off the rock before plopping down on the sand, she could’ve swore she stepped on a seashell or a hermit crab? But nonetheless her foot was on a sharp object, she didn’t know if she wanted to check on her foot or follow the figure who released the tune..

She just couldn’t think straight so ignoring her very aching foot she went after it but the song got louder and more hypnotizing and intoxicating it felt like drinking the most throat burning alcohol in the world, right when it felt like she was gonna faint she spotted a dark purple tail she reached out to try and grab it but it moved upwards like it was begging Ning to touch it, but that’s when the song stopped as the tail turned into a pair of long soft legs

“H-hello” Ning said with a shaky voice unaware of the creature that was before her eyes, the now human walked in front of ning as she gawked, your skin was glistening as her eyes trailed from your body to your chest then your dark eyes, they looked lifeless to Ning but she didn’t move..she couldn’t move..it was like someone was holding her in place.. you were holding her place the song she heard wasn’t a dream or a hallucination it was you..you lead her here to do what exactly??

Your dark eyes pierced her skin, it made her feel invisible but when your hand touched and grasped her shoulder she knew you were real “w-who are you” she whispered “if I told you who I was I’d be banished so let’s just call me siren” her voice gave her chills as she nodded your presence drove her crazy but your body was hypnotic, needless to say there was a visble tent in her pants as she looked at you trembling “I must say I never seen another human on this beach in months” Ning almost came right there when you kept speaking to her, she didn’t know you could sense her arousal, your arms brung Ning in for a bare hug before dragging her under the wooden brown bridge, she wanted to scream and fight, she didn’t want to go with you, she didn’t know if you wanted to kill her or even take her away she was defenseless because she just had to come to you, she just had to be attracted to your song and follow you…

You reached the bridge as you placed her down on the sand this part was much darker and colder it made her nipples perk up under her gray hoodie, Ning was afraid but aroused, you straddles her hips as your hands rested on her shoulders “you know what I’m gonna do to you is your own fault right…..you purposely followed me for you’re own reasoning” she wanted to believe it wasn’t but your words persuaded her, a smile formed on your lips as you unzipped her hoodie, her skin was so and delicate, it was life one slice with your claws and her skin would be tainted

Your hands trailed to her pants as her tent was visible you smiles softly before pulling them down but leaving them on her thighs although you were gonna take advantage of her you didn’t want her to get horrifyingly sick, there was a sight of precum left in her boxers as you pulled them down revealing her cock, it stood upright as it smacked against her soft belly it was so thick and long, this was visibly the biggest you’ve ever seen even male sirens didn’t have this much girth you thought as you slide down your panties, there was a hint of worry on nings face as you lifted yourself up then guided down on her cock, the stretch was painful but bearable, you sank down until your clit reached her pelvis, Ning gasped and whimpered under you as her hands immediately went to your hips kneading the soft flesh, you tried your best to stay silent but it just felt too good your body weakened as you moved your hips against hers her cock felt good in your tummy, her tips was pushing and hitting your cervix as you got leverage and started to lift your hips and bounce on your cock, your whimpers didn’t go unproved by Ning as she kept kneading your hips while letting out whimpers or curses every other second, your cunt squeezed her cunt deliciously as your hips moved restlessly it was so magical and synchronized, her flesh slapped against yours as liquid ran down your legs she didn’t know you came yet until the white ring formed around her cock, she felt her high coming as you clamped around her, she didn’t know you could get this tight it was unbearable as tears rolled down her cheeks, she came inside your cunt with a loud cry as her hands squeezed you tight, but you didn’t stop you wanted to be full you haven’t felt like that in a while and she was your only option, her cock veins bulged and dragged against her spongy walls as you came again, your cum was beginning to soaked her joggers, Ning hiccuped as she pleaded and begged you to go faster, her feeble voice was such a turn on it made your cunt quiver around her, you felt her hands snake up your body and grasp your chest fondling with your nipples, you moaned at the sensation, as your hips stuttered.. you were close again but so was Ning her cock throbbed inside of your cunt as she squeezed and pinched your nipples your bottom lip tucked under your teeth as you came around her for the last time, Ning followed as her warm cum coated your walls.

Nings eyes closed as you lifted yourself off her, you cleaned her up but left her on the sand unconscious or conscious you’ll never know, but you did know she’d be back to look for you and always you’d be singing your tune wishing she would be the one to come find you….

[raayllum]

Rayla and Callum re: possession plot line + all foreshadowing (s1-s5, supplementary material)

“An assassin doesn’t decide right and wrong. Only life and death.” Rayla parroted the mantra Runaan had so often repeated. She did not know if she was reciting the words to convince the prince that his fate was sealed, or to convince herself to seal it.

(Book One: Sky novelization; 1x02, and 1x04)

“Wow. So they look identical, but they might kill you or they might save you,” Callum said. “Exactly. Just like me…” Rayla smiled.

One more, she thought. Just one more win. A human stepped into the pit. His armor, a weather-beaten but familiar silver-grey with a red collar, told a grim tale: an exile from Katolis. He’d likely fled deeper into Xadia after the battle at the Storm Spire. He was barely taller than Rayla herself, and couldn’t have been older than— —what would he look like now, she wondered? Nearly two years older, a few inches taller— The human’s sword flashed towards her. Rayla sprang away, and the crowd bellowed. [...] The human kicked dirt at her, and Rayla scraped at her eyes, angry—infuriated, even. Humans were frustrating. Humans were clever. Humans could do anything, they could be anything, they could take their own fates and change them— When she blinked her eyes back open, Rayla saw several things at once. In the pit, the human charged forward, sword aloft. And in the crowd behind him, a flash of red. A scarf. For a moment Rayla was somewhere else, far away and safe and warm, following that red scarf instead of turning her back on it— —and then the human’s fist struck her jaw. She shouted in pain. One blade rose instinctively to block another blow, but the human grabbed her wrist and twisted so hard she dropped it. Then he swept a leg under her, catching her by the heels, and before she could breathe again Rayla was on her back in the dirt, staring up at the wooden bones of the ceiling. “Rayla! Wake up, come on! We’re gonna be okay—!” The human stood over her and tapped his blade to her chest. Rayla craned her neck, looking around. The sound came back into the world, and the crowd’s cheering had turned from raucous support to mocking, shrieking laughter. Groaning, she let her head fall back to the dirt. “You win,” she said. [...]

“What was that?! You beat yourself!” Back in Redfeather’s little hovel, Rayla sat in the hammock, arms tight across her chest. Stella, who had been told to stay behind for her own safety, snuggled against her neck and cooed. Rayla fiddled with a little wooden token someone had shoved into her hands as a consolation prize for her victories in the pit. Her fingers traced a carving of a hermit crab on one side and the stark profile of a Tidebound elf on the other. “What happened? Why didn’t you keep fighting?” Rayla took a deep breath. Her ribs ached. “I got distracted.” Redfeather gave a disbelieving laugh. “Don’t they teach you to avoid that kind of thing when you become an assassin?” “That’s different,” she protested, even though her heart knew it wasn’t. It was the same problem every time. Hesitation, sympathy, distraction… all just weakness in a different mask. 

Chasing Shadows, part 2

Rayla pulled the chest back, out of reach, and pressed the curve of one blade to his neck— —and held it there. The human froze, meeting her eyes. He looked afraid. Rayla wanted to hate him, this young Neolandian boy, she wanted to hate him like she hated Viren. She could almost see Viren’s face in his: the white streaks of his hair, the sickly pallor of his skin, the bruise-like shadows beneath his eyes. Was he not the same? But what if it was true? A plague, an illness, a wound— “Life is precious. Life is valuable. We take it, but we do not take it lightly.” [...] Rayla looked at the driftwood floor. “Because I messed up. He got away with the rest.” Redfeather sighed. “You hesitated. Like in the Bone Pit.” It stung. She was right, of course. Rayla caught a glimpse of her own reflection in a glass bottle and scowled at herself: the face glowering back at her was not the face of an assassin, and it never would be. [...] Redfeather nodded. “I like you, but you’re still trying to be the person they’ll welcome back home. You’re a Ghost. You can’t be that elf ever again. You have to decide who you are going to be instead. So—who are you?” Rayla balked at her. It was an awful question. She wasn’t an assassin, she wasn’t an elf of the Silvergrove, she wasn’t anything at all, she was just— —“Rayla.” That voice again. Rayla pushed away, trying to focus on Redfeather. “I’m—” “—selfless, strong, and caring—” He persisted, as he always did, and his voice took her far, far away. 

Chasing Shadows, part 3

She has made the princes her best friends and gone on a journey to free every elf and human from such terrible fates.

Rayla's Tales of Xadia bio

[eoieopda]

JADE, HEAR ME OUT, OKAY? NAMJOON AS A DAD. That’s it, that’s all I’ve got. I’ll see myself out.

dadjoon is his final evolution, i’m sure of it. if he can raise a jungkook, he can raise an actual baby.

also, for purely selfish reasons, i have created girl dad!joon. i can picture him exploring with a teeny tiny daughter, making sure she knows all the cool science/nature stuff that society thinks little girls can’t/shouldn’t be excited about 🫠😵‍💫🥹

Fate was a funny thing.

For as long as you’d known him, Namjoon had always been honest that his greatest wish in life was to be a father. It shocked you back then, hearing a nineteen-year-old dreaming so openly about domesticity; especially when all his friends could focus on was how many clubs they could hit in the night ahead. But you knew it, even then, that Namjoon was a nurturer. He always was.

Although he wasn’t shy about expressing his emotions, you’d only seen him cry on a handful of occasions. One of those was when he laid eyes on the pregnancy test you held out, trembling with joy and - inwardly - a hell of a lot of panic. For the nine months that followed, people often asked what you wanted: boy or girl? With a sheepish smile, he always answered the same way - a boy, because he knew what that entailed.

Having a little girl? Well, that scared the shit out of him. That was unknown territory and if his sister taught him anything, it was that he had absolutely no idea what kind of strength and finesse it took to navigate the very unique difficulties of girlhood. He was terrified, he said, of fucking up - of making it all harder.

The next time you saw him cry was when he first laid eyes on your daughter. Watching him hold that wriggling, pink-faced angel, there’d been a knot in your stomach. You wondered to yourself if he was secretly disappointed not to have a son, even if he’d never say so. But over the past three years, he proved you wrong over and over and over again.

Fate made the right call - Namjoon was born to be a girl dad.

Sitting on your beach towel, you hugged your knees to your chest and rested your chin where they bent. It was the most at-peace you’d ever felt, lounging in that salty wind, even though the excited squealing up ahead had scared all the seagulls away.

Waddling on chunky legs next her father, Kim Yeong-Ja gripped the same hand that had crafted the braids bouncing against her shoulders. She stared up at him with palpable adoration - like her mother - and her eyes were sparkling wide with wonder - like her father. If you squinted, you could see the purple fingernail on his right index finger; the one she messily painted after barely even having to ask for his permission, receiving all the trust in the world.

“Ja, look!” Namjoon gasped as his hand dipped gently into the tide pool below. When he pulled it back out, whatever he now cupped in his hand was invisible to you. “Do you know what this is, baby?”

Yeong-Ja’s gasp was identical to her father’s. Then that little ham pulled her free hand to her cheek in surprise - another perfectly mimicked trait of his - before her tiny voice replied, “Mermit!”

His eyes crinkled above his all-consuming grin. It didn’t disappear when he bent over and kissed the top of her head, “Hermit crab! Good job, baby. You’re a genius, just like your mama.”

Your heart soared at her reaction, which was to turn and find you with her big, bright eyes and open-mouthed smile. She giggled like a fiend when you waved. You swooned.

“Show mama!” Yeong-Ja barely warned him before she took off, tugging him behind her. He swooped in and tucked her under one arm so she wouldn’t fall on the rocks but, out of respect, kept up her desired pace. Her belly laugh had become the soundtrack of the day. Like the tide below, it crashed over the sand and sprayed in every direction.

Soon enough, your two greatest loves came clambering up to you and dropped clumsily - but safely - on the other half of your towel. You could’ve sat there forever, counting their twin freckles; but there was now a very small child holding a very small crab near your face with extremely cautious hands.

There were two pairs of eager eyes blinking up at you.

“Wow, Jaja! Look at your little friend!” You gushed before pressing a kiss to her damp, chubby cheek, “Is daddy teaching you all about nature?”

There was a tiny wrinkle between two black brows. She corrected you gently, though it made your heart explode, “Mermits, mama.”

“Quite right, Ja,” Namjoon waved his hand in diplomatic agreement before resting it on the small of your back. He shot you a wink but maintained his otherwise serious expression, “Mermits, mama.”

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 31: Amnestic Syndrome

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Prev || Next

It has been a wonderful few days.

Leo has been chillin' like a king.

Casey got a suntan.

Raph caught a hermit crab while swimming and giddily showed it off to everyone.

Donnie started (and won) a squirt gun war.

Splinter has been napping nonstop, which is not exactly different from the norm but he's happy as a clam and has 100% been enjoying the seafood dinners.

Even Draxum has benefitted from this whole thing, having been reunited with Huginn and Muninn. He's even offered them their jobs back as his shoulder pads! Or whatever it is they're supposed to do.

And, of course, Mikey is having the time of his life running free and uncontained. Leo can't remember the last time he saw him so energetic and happy; it's like he's a little kid again.

Mikey has asked to go explore the heart of the island today, and so the four brothers are off on a hike into the beautiful jungle. Raph and Leo mostly lead the way, though Mikey runs off in different directions and they change course to accommodate. It reminds Leo of when they were turtle tots exploring the sewer tunnels. Raph would always take the lead as the eldest, though Leo (headstrong child that he was) would often fight to take charge or go a different way that looked cooler. Donnie and Mikey would walk hand in hand together until Mikey's hyperactivity went into overdrive and he'd start hooting and hollering and race up and down the tunnels excitedly. Leo would go chasing after him in a game of tag, Raph would cry because he was afraid they'd get lost, and Donnie would remain unconcerned. Ah, what good times they had...

Leo notices that Mikey had gone off in a certain direction not too long ago, but now can barely hear him. Scratch that, he can't hear or see him at all.

"Mikey?" Leo calls out. "Where are ya, bud?"

Donnie instinctively looks down at his wrist tech. Raph starts walking in the direction that Mikey's gone off in. He walks past the brush and flora...

Mikey comes bounding out of the bushes and pounces on Raphael, causing him to yipe in fright and topple over. Leo yelps at the literal jumpscare, but his fright turns to uproarious laughter at Raphael's face. Donnie smirks to himself and mumbles something along the lines of "I knew he was there."

Raph lays on the ground, gasping for breath as Mikey sits on his plastron with an enormous grin, tail wagging happily at the prank's success. Leo is on the ground cackling.

"Okay, okay, you got me," Raph sighs, picking Mikey up and off of his chest. "You can stop laughing now, Leo."

Leo, in fact, does not stop laughing for five more minutes.

The four press on.

Leo has to hold onto Donnie's arm for support after all that laughing. Dee isn't such a huge fan of that, especially with all the heat and humidity from the tropical climate. But he seems preoccupied. Leo happens to glance over and catches him looking at his wrist tech again.

"What are you doing?" Leo asks, leaning over to get a look for himself.

"Just checking something."

Leo notices several colour-coded icons.

"The trackers?"

"Yes. Since we are on a remote island and Michael has a tendency to just go running off when excited, I have been making sure that I know where he is at all times."

Leo looks back up at Donatello's face. His drawn-on eyebrows are furrowed, a crease on his fivehead and a stare of intensity in his eyes.

When Mikey first went missing, Dee would just stare at the tracking program and reupload new lines of code, debug it, update it, even turn the program off and then on again. He sat at his computer for an entire day, trying to understand what had happened. It worked fine for a few hours after Raph and Leo had reported Mikey MIA. But then, suddenly, it flickered and died out. Donnie didn't speak for the entire rest of the night, only staring at his screen and trying to get it back online. Leo had tried talking to him about it, But Donnie remained adamant that his tech and his ninpo were unparalleled. It would have taken massive voltage or some kind of mystic EMP like what the Krang had to deactivate it.

....Now, thinking it over, and after they'd discovered Mikey's altered DNA and the fact that he'd experienced severe electric charges, it began to make sense as to why the tracker was deactivated.

But it was like Donnie had said before -- it wasn't just deactivated, his tracker was removed. And though Leo and the others had considered it an invasion of privacy, Donnie's subdermal trackers came in handy more often than not, and Leo had found it was Dee's way of showing them that he cared about them all deeply. Not being able to know where Mikey was, or if he was alive... terrified him. Terrified all of them.

All that to say, Leo understands perfectly well why Donnie has been checking the trackers as often as possible.

Leo lets go of Donnie's arm, walking side by side with him.

The hike -- while being almost unbearably hot and through thick jungles -- is actually quite fun! Even with Mikey's occasional jumpscare pranks on the three.

Donnie goes into nerd mode, analyzing the flora and taking samples for later.

Raph is having fun chasing after Mikey and playing games with him. Mikey's memory issues and slight confusion make it seem like he's much younger than he really is, and Raph has missed being able to baby him like this. Some part of Leo thinks this might become an issue later on, but for the moment, Mikey is happy to have fun and Raph is happy to reminisce on days when his baby brother used to play with him like this.

And Leo is just happy to enjoy this time with his brothers. Even if he's constantly getting trampled by Michelangelo.

Speaking of which, Mikey is due for another jumpscare any minute now. Leo is on guard, listening for the little hunter. Mikey's inherited crazy impressive instincts from the added DNA. He somehow knows how not to make a single sound when moving, even in the tall grass and thick roots. He's fast, too, like blink-and-you-miss-it fast. You usually don't even realise he's stalking you until you're face-down in the dirt with him giggling on your back. Leo looks around cautiously for him. He sure is taking his sweet time...

Raph starts checking behind ferns and large flowers.

"Gee, he sure is hiding pretty well this time. I can't see him anywhere!"

Leo starts looking with him, checking the tree limbs to see if he's going to do another aerial ambush. But he can't see him anywhere.

"How does someone covered in neon yellow polka dots get so good at camouflage?? It's like he's not even here!"

"...That's probably because he isn’t, Nardo."

Leo and Raph turn to Donnie, who is looking down at his wrist tech.

"Mikey is several meters away from us. He ran off five minutes ago and has been stationary for quite some time. I suggest we go looking for him. The fact that he hasn't moved for five minutes is mildly concerning."

Leo and Raph follow behind Donatello as he leads the way towards a small clearing. Donnie pushes aside a group of monsteras, revealing a tiny river and waterfall hidden within the jungle. Large and exotic flowers grow around the clearing, almost fencing it in. The riverbank is made from volcanic rocks -- glassy obsidian and smoothed pumice and shimmering gabro. Leo and Raph ooh and awe at the scenery.

"Mikey is somewhere in here," Donnie says, looking around. "According to my GPS, he should be right around -- yipe!!"

Donnie yelps as he stumbles forward, nearly falling into a hidden pit just in front of them. The pit is obscured by the grass and alocasias growing around it, almost covering the opening completely. And to top it off, there is a short but unexpected drop-down from the area around the clearing, like an unexpected stair.

Both Raph and Leo grab Donnie by the shoulders and yank him back. He glances back with a grumble.

"What island has a secret hidden pit lying around?!"

From deep within the pit, they hear a chirp.

"Mikey!" Raph calls, stepping around the pit and looking down into it. "Is that you?"

"Hi, Raphie..."

"Are you okay?" Leo shouts.

"M'fine, just stuck."

"Stuck? Stuck how?" Leo asks, peering into the pit.

He can see Mikey sitting at the bottom of the pit, hands and feet doused in mud and muck. He looks awfully embarrased.

"Can't you just climb out?"

"Tried," Mikey answers. "Too slippery. Rocks are too wet an' slimy, Mikey just kept sliding on the mud!"

"Well, this is the time when I reiterate why we should always bring our mystic weapons with us when hiking," Donnie grumbles, crossing his arms.

"It was just a walk in the jungle! It's not like we were going to fight anything! Why bring them?" Leo refutes.

"Oh, I don't know, in case Mikey falls in a hole and we need to A: make a portal to get him out, B: Use giant elongated hands to lift him out, or C: create impossibly futuristic tech to get him out!"

"Okay, Einstein!" Leo growls. "It was just a suggestion! You could have actually brought your bō, I wasn't gonna stop you --"

"Can we stop shiftin' blame and get to helpin' Mikey already?" Raph yells, grabbing the twins' attention.

"Right right right," Leo stammers. "Well, Donnie actually gave me an idea! We can't really use our ninpo without our magic weapons, but you know who can?"

"…Mikey?"

"Exactly!" Leo says with a smile.

He leans down and calls into the pit.

"Yo, Mike! Just make a mystic chain and climb out!"

Mikey stares up at him, cocking his head in confusion.

"How?"

"Y'know, with your... mystic abilities? Your ninpo?"

"Whazza ninpo?" he asks.

Leo swallows. Both Raph and Donnie exchange glances.

"It's... it's like a superpower you have. It's a part of the family, you can do all kinds of cool stuff! Your ninpo is usually making these cool glowy chains... though, you were starting to do some new things, too... B-but, just try making a chain," Leo says, rambling awkwardly.

"How do I make a chain?" Mikey asks, slightly annoyed. "I can't make anything down here!"

"No, not like make it with your hands -- Make it with your mind!"

"My mind?" Mikey asks incredulously.

"Sorta, I'm not sure exactly how your mystic abilities work -- but for me, I usually just think of where I want to go and the portals take me there. Just try concentrating. Think about family, that might help. Your ninpo is powered by our family bond!"

Mikey stares blankly at Leo, as if he just told him his spots were purple and not yellow. But... Mikey trusts Leo, so...

He concentrates. He thinks hard.

"...Nothing's happening."

"Just keep trying!" Leo calls down. "I believe in you!"

Leo believes in him. Mikey trusts Leo. Family bond. Think about family. Make a chain. Concentrate...

Mikey's spots start flickering.

He squeezes his eyes so tight he gets a headache. He balls his hands into fists until the claws dig into his palms. His muscles tense.

"Woah, Mikey, don't hurt yourself! You're gonna give yourself a hernia or something --"

Mikey barely hears him. He growls and grunts and groans, blood vessels in his forehead popping from the effort as he tries.

He can't let them down. He can't let them know the truth. They're his FAMILY. Just... just... FOCUS!

Mikey's markings flicker once more... twice...

Something bright and glowing golden starts to form... shapes, materializing like dust in the air.

Think about family. Think about family. Think about --

Think about how you are not a part of their family anymore, no matter how hard you try to deny it.

Mikey's markings dim, the light goes out. The chains decay before they ever take solid shape.

He sighs, slamming his fists against his thighs in frustration.

"I-- I can't do it. I don't know how!"

Leo, Donnie, and Raph each look at one another.

"...Okay, Mikey. It's... it's okay, we'll get you out another way. Hey, Raph! Don! I think I saw some vines on our way in, let's try those..."

The three Hamato brothers leave Mikey alone in the pit. Alone with his thoughts. With his failings. With only his Instinct.

The trio are back within moments, having collected several vines and bound them together to create a rope for Mikey to climb up on.

They cheer when he emerges, but Mikey doesn't meet their eyes. The cheers simmer down, replaced by an awkward silence.

"So... Mikey," Leo sighs, placing a hand on his little brother's quilled shoulder. "I think it's time we had a talk..."

.

.

.

Mikey cleans the muck from his lower half before talking. He rubs the mud out from between his toes and talons, digging under his fingernails and doing his best to get himself presentable for the talk.

He's stalling. They all know he's stalling.

But Mikey has been dreading this conversation since the day they got him back from the labs.

Mikey's feet dangle in the stream, playing in the gentle flow of water. He wishes he could just stay here and stay quiet, never have this talk. It feels different from a scolding. Mikey doesn't mind scoldings, he's used to them from the labs. Though, his brothers are much nicer about their scoldings than the scientists were. But this isn’t a scolding, he can tell. It's something worse. It's a confrontation… As Mikey is marinating in dread and river water, Raph comes up behind him and rubs his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy? Ready to talk yet?"

Mikey shakes his head no.

"Do we hafta talk?" he whispers.

"I think so," Raph whispers back. "This is important."

"I didn't mean to do bad," Mikey says softly, pulling his knees close to his chest. "I tried my hardest! I really did! But... I-I couldn't do it."

Raph hums in response. He's not sure what to say.

"...Don't feel bad about that. You tried really hard, I saw. We just... wanna help you figure this out, okay?"

Mikey takes a deep breath and exhales loudly.

"Okay."

Mikey takes Raphael's hands and shakily stands up, his big bro helping him to walk normally over to where the twins are waiting.

"Hey, Angelo!" Leo greets with a nervous smile. "You all cleaned up?"

Mikey nods, sitting himself down, just outside of their circle. They don't let that slide; both Raph and Leo scoot out to make him a part of their formation.

"Great. So, uh... I guess you're all wondering why I called you here --" Leo starts.

"Skip the jokes and get to the point," Donnie interjects.

"Yeesh, tough crowd! Okay, okay. Look, Mikey, we've noticed that you've been... uh, how shall we say... acting oddly around us."

Mikey swallows. He tries not to let his anxiety rise any more than it already is.

"Odd? U-uh, how?"

"You threw away your chucks," Leo lists.

"You couldn't recall our names," Donnie adds. "And I've seen the way you react when we call you 'Angelo'. I suspect you don't know your full name is Michelangelo, and not simply Mikey."

"And April said you asked her why she cares about you, or why she didn't look like us if she was our sister," Leo reminds him. "And you reacted weirdly when Dad showed you our family photos."

"You also didn't recognize Draxum," Raph contributes to the list. "And you don't remember what the Prison Dimension or the Krang are, do you?"

Mikey thinks about bluffing. But his lack of response betrays him. He sees Leo flinch and go pale at the mention, Donnie shudders and squirms. Even Raph's body language shifts. But Mikey doesn't get it. He's caught.

"Casey talked about the future, and you had no clue. You get confused by inside jokes or references, and I'm pretty sure you have no idea that Dad is actually Lou Jitsu."

"He's who?!" Mikey asks, though it takes a moment for the memory of who Lou Jitsu is to process.

"See, that's what's concerning us," Leo exclaims. "Mikey, we don't mind that you're confused, but... you aren't telling us the whole picture. And what happened with your ninpo kind of confirms what we've been suspecting for a while now..."

Mikey's head buzzes loudly. He feels ill.

"Mikey... you don't actually remember us, do you?"

His eyes sting, blurring over. He hyperventilates, he can't catch his breath. His hands clasp onto his skinny arms, his legs fold close to his chest, his tail wraps around him. His limbs trap him in a cage, the spines and spikes and quills stand on edge to protect him from the panic attack. His brothers The others try to calm him, but Mikey can't hear anything over his weeping and wailing.

Mikey rocks back and forth, feeling like he might vomit. Raphael places a hand on his shoulder. Mikey screams, swatting the hand away in a panic. Mikey stammers and stutters, not even sure what he's supposed to be saying. He wants to convey how scared he is, how hard he's trying to hold it together, how bad he feels at letting them down, the terror he has at having been caught in the lie. But all he can hear himself say is 'please please please' and 'sorry sorry sorry'.

Hands take his own. Mikey looks up and blearily sees the colour purple.

"Mikey. Can you hear me?"

Mikey nods. It's hard to breathe. He doesn't say it out loud, but the deep and desperate gasps he's making are obvious indicators.

"Focus on me, okay? Follow my lead. In one --" Donnie makes an exaggerated inhale, posture arching. "-- out two." His exhale is loud and exaggerated, his stature relaxes.

Mikey tries to repeat him. His breathing is sporadic, he feels like he's failing him at the most simplistic of things--!

"Hey, hey, focus on me, right? Just focus on my voice, on my breathing. In for one, out for two."

Mikey follows his lead, eyes locked onto Donnie's.

"There we go. In for one, out for two. In for two, out for four. In for four, out for six..."

Donnie and Mikey do the breathing exercises until Mikey's lungs find a rhythm. He calms, hiccups and suck-ups following suit, but they slow soon enough. Donnie manages a tiny smile, an attempt to comfort. He pats the ground around Mikey's knees.

"Mikey, can you tell me what you're sitting on?"

Mikey looks down.

"G-grass...?"

"What do you smell?"

"Fl-flow-wers...? M-m-m-mud. W-water, s-sea water...! R-Raph..."

He hears Leo chuckle.

"Name three things you can see."

Mikey glances around.

"M-Mikey sees you... sees brothers... um, sees trees? And stream... is, is that three?"

"Yes, that's three. You're doing great. Now, can you tell me how we got here?"

"W-walked here. Mikey ran, f-fell in a pit..." he starts crying again. "I-I couldn't get out, I couldn't do the --"

"It's okay, stay present with me," Donnie soothes, rubbing his thumbs over Michelangelo's hands. "Just stay focused on the present moment."

Mikey sighs, tries breathing again. Stay present. Stay focused. Okay...

Donnie talks to him, asking simple and easy questions, such as 'what do you hear?' and 'what colour is the sky?' and 'can you taste this?' after handing him a honeysuckle. Mikey calms down quickly after that.

The other two sit at a respectable distance, making sure not to overwhelm him. After some time, and Donnie's calming techniques, Leo crawls towards them.

"You okay?" he asks cautiously, reaching out to hold Mikey's hand.

Mikey nods and hums a 'yes'.

'Sorry,' he signs. 'Got really scared.'

'That's okay,' Leo signs back. 'We didn't mean to freak you out. Just wanted to talk about it.'

"Can we still talk about it?" Raph asks gently, looking Mikey over. "I mean, if you're okay with that."

Mikey nods, crawling into Donnie's lap for comfort.

"Mikey ready..."

"Okay then," Donnie sighs. "Mikey, we need you to be honest with us so we can be sure to take proper care of you. How much do you actually remember?"

"Mmmm... not a lot," he whimpers. "Mikey remembers a few things... small things. L-Like random moments."

"That would be the brain sauce Draxum made doin' its thing," Raph nods.

"But other than that..?" Leo asks.

"But… o-other than that... Mikey can't remember anything before the labs," he shamefully admits.

"Mikey, why didn't you tell us?" Donnie questions.

"Scared to," he whines. "Didn't want to admit it, didn't want to disappoint you... Y-you all love Mikey so much, and I don't... I don't know why... I don't know who Mikey is, and I just... I wanted you to... be happy. I wanted to be Mikey for you."

Mikey feels Donnie wrap his arms around him and press his face against his head. He's shaking. Leo scoots in and hugs the two of them together. Raph joins in last, his arms just barely long enough to engulf them all.

"Miguel... we want to help you get better, we want to help you remember everything --" Leo states.

"B-but what if I c-can't?" Mikey sobs.

"Then we'll love you regardless. If you never remember us, or yourself... then that's okay. I mean, it'll suck, I won't lie. But it won't be like we've lost you. You're still here, you're just figuring out who you are again. And we'll help you."

"But I-I didn't want you to know!" Mikey wails. "I didn't want to tell you that I wasn't Mikey anymore! I wanted you to love me, I wanted to-- to-- I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Donnie pulls him tighter.

"Mikey... I do love you. Whether you remember me or not. Whether you remember yourself or not. I will always love you."

Mikey sobs and clutches the others his brothers tightly.

"Mikey... there's something we need to tell you, too," Leo sighs. "Something we probably should have told you earlier."

Mikey looks up at him anxiously.

"It's about your DNA."

Mikey nods slowly, prompting him to go on.

"Well... when we got you home and Donnie did the scan, we found out what you were mutated with. It was... a lot."

"Specifically it was jaguar, basilisk lizard, boa constrictor, baboon, mandrill, and proboscis monkey," Donnie interjects.

"Thank you, Brainiac Unlimited™ for that one."

Mikey nods again, seemingly unfazed for the most part. Leo wonders if he's still processing it all, or knew the information beforehand, or... maybe just doesn't care? He mentioned doing lots of tests at the labs, so he probably already figured he had multiple creatures' genetics inside of him now.

"Well, Donnie left out one crucial piece of info..." Leo mentions.

"Leo, I still don't think it's a good idea," Raph murmurs.

"We want him to be honest with us, we need to be honest with him. He has to know."

"Know what?" Mikey asks curiously.

"Leo is referring to how your DNA was primarily mutated with Krang," Donnie blurts before Raph can intervene.

The four are silent as Mikey processes.

"...So?"

"The Krang still don't mean anything to you?" Raph asks. "Not ringing any bells?"

Mikey thinks.

"You said something about Krang at the junkyard," he recalls. "And Casey mentioned them a little. The lab people talked about them, too. But I don't really know what they are..."

"They're aliens," Leo explains. "They're very dangerous aliens. They tried to invade Earth several months ago, but we fought them."

Mikey's eyes widen.

"Am... am I an alien?"

"Part alien," Donnie clarifies. "But we still consider you 100% Mikey."

"Dangerous aliens... you fought them... I-I remembered Leo said --"

Mikey pauses, eyes bulging and breath quickening as the realization hits him like a train.

"Prison Dimension. Did... was that because of the Krang? Of me??"

"No!" Leo says, unintentionally shouting as he grabs Mikey by the arm. "No, no! That was not you! You didn't do that, the Krang... the Krang didn't even do that, actually, it was --"

Leo sighs.

"...It was my choice. The Prison Dimension was made to hold the Krang inside, but they got free because of me. My stupid ego and my dumb mistakes. A-and... the only way to... I had to do something, and there wasn't any time to think of a better solution, and so... so I...."

"You portaled yourself and the Krang into the Prison Dimension and had Casey trap you both inside," Raph finishes.

"Yeah," Leo says, swallowing as he shakes. "That."

Mikey stares at Leo, eyes popping out of his head. He'd mentioned the Prison Dimension, he'd shows his aversion to it, and Mikey had even remembered scenes where he and his family dealt with the aftermath of it all. But... he didn't expect this. He didn't expect it to be because of monsters.

"...How did Leo get out?"

"You did that, actually," Leo chuckles. "With your ninpo."

"Mikey did that?" he echoes, looking around for someone to deny it. "With the ninpo?"

"Yep. Your mystic powers were growing, and Casey told us that you became the most powerful master of magic in the future! You didn't let that tidbit go, and you kept trying to make magic portals the whole time we fought, even though our mystic abilities were nullified by... the...Krang..."

Leo's voice trails off. The four exchange glances.

"The Krang had some kind of supersonic screech that deactivated our ninpo. Could it be that..."

"Is that why I can't do the ninpo anymore?" Mikey asks. "Because I'm... Krang?"

"I-I don't know, but it's a theory," Donnie suggests. "We'll talk to Draxum and Papa about it. We'll figure it out."

Mikey pauses, looking down at his hands. his claws.

"The Krang are evil... right?"

They don't answer, but their silence speaks volumes. Mikey looks up at them, trying to meet their eyes.

"Do... do you hate me because I'm Krang now?"

This is why I said it was a bad idea to tell him.

He deserves to know! And it might be tough, but --

"You dum-dums do know you're not talking and it's making Michael uncomfortable, right?" Donnie scolds, cradling Mikey a little closer.

"Oh!" Leo snaps back. "No! No, Mikey, no, of course not! Look, we were kind of nervous about the Krang DNA, but only because we weren't sure how you'd deal with the news."

"And I was concerned about the ramifications of modifying mutant DNA with alien genetics, but yes. Emotional stability was in question," Donnie adds.

"But you are not a monster just because you have alien DNA now. You're still our Michelangelo, and we still love you."

"...You love me now...."

Mikey remembered the conversation he and Leo had the other day, and how Leo had said he'd love him if you were a worm, or a regular turtle, and if he were a monster. Leo finished his little declaration by saying 'I love you now', and Mikey had found the wording strange. Not anymore, now he understood what Leo meant. He's a monster now.

And Leo loves him now, just as always.

Mikey cannot understand this. But he accepts it for the moment, resting his head against his brothers and just… stays here. Trying to understand why they don't hate him, why they keep trying to convince him he's not a monster when the evidence is starting to stack up against him.

But Mikey just accepts it. He'll understand it later.

.

.

.

The scientists have been very interested in Mikey's control of the human covered in pink parasites. They've been doing a lot of tests and examinations.

He's not required to move or do anything. He sits and lets them do what they want. They look him over, poke and prod him, lift his scales and scutes and quills. A doctor shines a light in his eyes, giving Mikey a headache. Another pricks him with a needle and syringe. They take his blood again. They take a skin sample again. They take a saliva sample again. They do everything three times over, again and again and again.

Mikey feels numb.

His mind wanders, helping him escape this room and find some semblance of serenity as he waits for these tests and exams to be done. He's so bored and tired. But compared to everything else they make him do here, this isn't so bad.

Mikey's attention comes back to him when he hears someone talking loudly by him. He flinches, thinking that he's being scolded or ordered to do something, but no. It's just Dr. Timothy getting enthusiastic over his mutations.

"I just can't believe it! The creature can control the zombies!"

"This is unprecedented. And I'm quite surprised, I've never seen Dr. Chaplin so intrigued and... dare I say?" Dr. Finn pauses. "Excited."

"This little abomination could hold the key to ending the Krang infections once and for all!" Dr. Timothy celebrates.

"But why stop there?" A third voice adds.

Mikey flinches again and cowers softly as Dr. Chaplin walks in and joins the conversation.

"This little mutant monster shows a higher success rate than any creature the TCRI has ever cooked up before. And it takes orders so well," he says with a sickening smile.

Dr. Chaplin reaches down and grabs Mikey's face, squeezing his thin cheeks and tilting his head to get a better look at him.

"Despite its age and emaciated figure, the little beastie has unprecedented strength and fighting ability. Just what we've been looking for. I do think our tests are nearly complete."

"Complete, sir?" Dr. Finn asks, raising an eyebrow.

"He's shown excellence in everything thus far. Problem-solving, keen instincts, agility… I think it's time we move onto the next phase of our studies. The A.L.P.H.A. device is ready for testing, put him in the Interaction Room when you're done. Depending on how it goes, we may be able to move on to..."

Mikey zones out again. He's tired of this. He doesn't like being handled or tested or talked about like he's an 'it'. He's a Mikey! Whatever that is…

Mikey feels heaviness around his throat, followed by a yank. The collar and lead were placed on his neck while he wasn't paying attention. He's dragged back to the Interaction room for the test with this strange new 'A.L.P.H.A. Device'...

.

.

.

Mikey can't sleep. He keeps thinking about what happened earlier that day.

He can't shake the feeling that... something is wrong. He's missing something. His brothers love him, despite knowing that he doesn't remember them. They support him, despite knowing that he may never fully be Mikey again. But... why does he feel so distant? Why is he still so scared to be around them, but so much more scared to be without them?

In the labs, he never knew why he wanted his brothers. He never even knew they were brothers, they were more so figments of imagination, a distant mirage that he could almost touch. They were shadows. And now they're real.

So why can't he accept them? Why can't he accept that he's one of them?

Because you're a monster. KRANG, Instinct whispers. You are a KRANG. It is what I am, what YOU are. What WE have become.

...Are Krang monsters?

To the weak, yes. The weak always view the strong as monsters.

So Mikey really is a monster?

Did you doubt this? Instinct questions.

Mikey hoped...

HOPE IS A FOOL'S WEAPON, Instinct scolds. YOU CANNOT SURVIVE ON HOPE. ONLY STRENGTH AND FORCE. THE KRANG ARE STRONG. THE KRANG SURVIVE. YOU WILL DO AS I SAY AND YOU WILL LIVE.

Even if it makes Mikey a monster?

Does it matter?

Mikey doesn't know anymore... h-he wants to believe it does, he wants to believe he's not what Instinct says he is, he wants to believe that he is their Mikey!

Even if you were once "their Mikey", it hardly matters now. You are simply an amalgamation creature made to serve a purpose. The humans created you to be a monster. Too bad they couldn’t remove the ALL THE MIKEY FROM YOU.

Mikey throws the pillow over his face and screams into it. Stop talking, Instinct!

You know it is true. And your "brothers" confirmed it for you. Even THEY KNEW you were a monster. Why do you continue to fight this truth?

"Because I'm not a monster!" Mikey whisper-shouts, sitting upright and flinging the pillow into the wall. "I'm not! They said I'm not!"

You DO know what a lie is, don't you?

"But... but Mikey trusts Leo--"

Why? Haven't you learned by now? I thought you would have known better. The labs taught you nothing.

"Shut up!" Mikey shouts.

Weak, pathetic, useless, coward --

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Mikey screams, hot and angry tears running down his face.

Mikey tears his bed apart, shredding the blanket and ripping the extra pillows to pieces. He growls loudly, looking for something else to attack in lue of Instinct. He punches the mattress, his tail whips the wall and gashes the wallpaper, he grabs one of the lamps on the nightstand table and chucks it, pieces shattering and the lampshade flying off from the impact. In the flickering light from the dying lamp, Mikey sees something move in the corner. He runs and confronts it --

It's his own reflection in the mirror. Teeth snarled and fangs elongated, his claws extended, his quills raised and his tail spiked. His eyes burn brightly and the irises are nothing more than thin blood-red slits.

Mikey jerks back suddenly, terrified of his own image. His pupils and irises return to normal slowly…

You see? Nothing more than a monster. Accept it.

Mikey screams in anger and punches the mirror as hard as he can. The glass shatters instantly and his knuckles bleed.

The door swings open and nearly smacks into Mikey's back.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Raph asks in a panic, scanning the trashed room before he sees Mikey, shying away with embarrassment.

Raph calms, then panics again when he sees the blood and glass.

"Sorry," Mikey squeaks. "I got... I was mad, I..."

"Leo and I heard yelling and thought --"

"It was just me, sorry. I didn't realise I was being so loud... Instinct was making me mad."

"The voice in your head?" Raph clarifies.

Mikey nods.

"Humph. Well, I don't like this voice bullying my little brother. Come on, Mikey, let's get you cleaned up."

Raph hoists Mikey up and carries him to the bathroom. Mikey perches atop his shoulders again, tail wrapping around and hanging lazily over his shell.

"So, what was Instinct saying?" Raph asks.

"Um... just the usual stuff."

"Which is?"

Mikey's fingers curl nervously.

"Just... stuff about... fitting in, I guess."

Raph places a hand on Mikey's head and rubs circles onto his skin.

"I'm sorry about that..." he sighs. "I'm sorry about a lot of things..."h

Inside the bathroom, Raph sets Mikey down on the toilet seat and grabs the supplies he needs -- disinfectant, bandages, some swabs, cream, etc. Mikey holds his paw out for Raph to inspect.

Mikey is actually surprised by the gentleness of his big brother. Raphael's huge, strong hands are slow, soft, delicate; carefully pulling any remnants of glass out with a pair of fine tweezers. Mikey winces initially, but stays still otherwise. This is starting to remind him of the labs... he zones out as Raph tends to his cuts.

"...Mikey? Mikey," he hears.

Mikey blinks back to reality. His hand is bandaged.

"Oh, hi Raph," he murmurs. "Thanks."

"No problem, that's what big brothers do. Now, can you tell me why you punched the mirror?"

"I was trying to punch Instinct..."

"So, because you couldn't punch a voice in your head, you punched a reflection of yourself?" Raph surmises. "Makes sense."

"I know it sounds stupid..."

"Not really," Raph shrugs. "I used to do the same thing."

Mikey looks up and slowly recalls moments from his childhood where Raph would get so frustrated that he'd obliterate things with a single punch. Walking into bathrooms where the mirror had been cracked and taped over in a feeble attempt to fix it or cover it up.

"...Really?"

"Oh yeah," Raph says with a nod as he leans against the wall. "Raph had a hard time not listening to intrusive thoughts, and they make him really angry. I used to get so mad after Savage Raph would attack you guys. Do you remember Savage Raph?"

Mikey does, actually. Flickering images of his biggest brother growling, his eyes whited over and his teeth bared. Barbecuing villains in a sewer tunnel, attacking his brothers, calling them 'sewer monsters'.

"...Yes, Mikey -- I remember." Mikey looks up hopefully at him. "How did you stop it?"

"I can't say I've stopped it," Raph admits. "I still have moments when I almost lose control, times when my thoughts start to turn against me. But I've learned how to fight against those thoughts, take them captive before they take me captive."

"Why can't I do that?" Mikey asks.

"You can, though!" Raph assures him brightly. "Mikey, you're the one who taught me how to do that!"

"Mikey did that?"

"Yeah, bud!"

"But... I can't remember, I don't know..." Mikey pauses to think, before looking up hopefully at Raph. "Will you teach me again?"

Raphael smiles and cups Mikey's cheek.

"Absolutely. That's what brothers do."

He's not your brother anymore.

"Shut up!" Mikey growls, squeezing his eyes closed, and pressing his knuckles against his temples.

He feels Raph lift his face up. He gently opens his eyes and looks at Raph's concerned expression.

"What did Instinct say?"

"...That we're not brothers..."

"Well, that's 100% a lie," Raph says. "So just tell him that."

"But he'll fight back --"

"Then you fight back, too!" Raph encourages. "Say it out loud. Tell him he's wrong."

Mikey swallows and feels a little embarrassed, but he follows.

"Y-you're wrong."

No.

"Now tell him he's a liar."

Mikey fidgets.

"You're a liar."

What are you -- why are you listening to him? He doesn't know what he's talking about --

"Tell him you won't listen to him anymore."

I'M THE ONE WHO KEPT YOU ALIVE!

"But Instinct --"

"No, Mikey. You can't listen to him anymore. He's not helping you, he's not doing anything for you. He only wants to confuse you and hurt you. So what do we do with things that lie and hurt?"

"...We get rid of them?"

"Exactly. So tell him he's not welcome anymore."

NO!

"You're not welcome anymore, Instinct."

DO YOU REALIZE HOW STUPID YOU SOUND?! DO YOU KNOW HOW RIDICULOUS --

"And every time he tries to talk again, every time he tries to lie or make you feel bad, you ignore him. Confront him. He only tells you lies, so you can always defeat him."

Mikey nods, determination bubbling up inside of him.

"Instinct isn't welcome," he annouces.

Stop this.

"Louder!" Raph encourages.

You fool --

"Instinct isn't welcome!"

YOU CAN'T --

"Even louder, buddy!" Raph shouts.

YOU WRETCHED LITTLE --

"INSTINCT IS NOT WELCOME! MIKEY IS NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO INSTINCT ANYMORE!!"

It's quiet.

"...I... I think I did it," Mikey heaves. "I think I... I think he's gone! I can't hear him!"

Raph cheers with Mikey, and pulls him into a bear hug.

"I knew you could do it! And if he ever tries to weasel his way back in, just tell him off and tell him what for! And remember, he'll only tell you lies to make you feel bad. But they are NEVER true. And you can use that against him."

Mikey squeezes Raph around the neck as he laughs. He feels... free. A strange kind of freedom, one he hasn't felt even after leaving the labs.

It feels good.

"So... now what?" Mikey asks.

"Now we go to bed," Raph yawns, prompting another laugh from Michelangelo. "Though, your room is kinda trashed now, so you probably shouldn't sleep in there..."

"Turtle pile?" Mikey suggests, going into puppy-eyes mode.

"Absolutely," Raph nods, hoisting Mikey back onto his shoulders and taking him out and into their brothers' bedrooms to get them all together again.

Prev || Next

[faemytho]

“What am I supposed to do when I can’t even trust my own thoughts?” with Abyss Monarch and Eel,,, 👀?

yes yes yes. im craving them (voice of a guy who is writing a multichapter longfic series with them). i altered the sentence just a lil! hope thats ok.

HEY. vote abyss monarch and electric eel for COTY. okay? i need abyss monarch's goth ass in PINK. (and eel white day costume. pls pls pls)

-

Electric Eel found them in the junkyard.

Wandercrab returned to this spot every so often, depositing the trash it cleaned up from other places around the ocean floor and organizing it. It was where they did their repairs to the city mech and where they picked up wanderers who waited for its return. It was the night before they would set out again, and Ink Cloak had gone missing.

"Hey," Eel called to them as he approached. They flinched where they were curled up, coiling closer around themself. Their hood was down, which was a sight Eel had never gotten to see. He stopped beside them, hands shoved in his pockets. "You okay, Ink Cloak?"

Without looking up, Ink Cloak shook their head. They hugged their knees tighter, tentacles twisting and curling where they sat in anxious movements. One of them found Eel's leg, and curled around his ankle.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, and they shook their head again.

Eel looked out over the junkyard. It had been from all this junk that he, Anglerfish, and Hermit Crab had built Wandercrab. That fact alone had given some value to this garbage dump.

Ink Cloak was silent, and Eel took a soft breath. "Can I sit with you?" he asked, and after a long moment, Ink Cloak nodded.

Eel took a seat beside them among the heaps of garbage, brushing some of it aside with his tail. The tentacle that had wrapped itself around his ankle squeezed, and he rested a gentle hand on it. Clearly something was wrong, but he couldn't force Ink Cloak to talk about it.

"Do you remember the day I found you here?" Eel asked after a moment of silence. Ink Cloak didn't look up, but they made a soft noise, an acknowledgement to keep talking. Eel pulled his legs close and looked out over the junk with a little smile. "You were completely out cold when I found you. I think you're lucky the worms didn't think you were dead and start trying to eat you."

Ink Cloak gave a soft scoff, but still, they didn't lift their head. Eel continued.

"You were all curled up in your tentacles, so I thought maybe you were hurt. Anglerfish just said you needed rest, but I was so worried about you that I stayed with you till you woke up."

"Idiot," Ink Cloak muttered, but there was no bite behind their tone. Eel grinned, even though they weren't looking.

"Hey, I was scared!" he protested with a laugh. "But also, I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up. I nearly tripped over you when I found you here, by the way."

Ink Cloak snorted. The tentacle around his ankle slowly uncurled itself.

"You remember what you said when you first saw me?" Eel tilted their head, stifling a giggle as Ink Cloak groaned.

"Don't remind me," they muttered, lifting their head just enough to speak. "That was embarrassing."

"You told me," Eel giggled, "that I was the brightest pearl in the sea."

"I was delirious!" Ink Cloak groaned, finally lifting their head and giving him a look. Despite all this, there was a quirk to the corner of their lips. "I was exhausted, I was not thinking clearly! It was dark, you were alight, and I was not in my right mind!"

Eel burst out laughing, a happy, carefree sound that echoed through the waters of the junkyard. After a moment, Ink Cloak joined in with quiet chuckles of their own.

"Still, I'm glad I found you," Eel said, letting his laughter die down. "It's kinda funny. You haven't been here long, but now, I couldn't even imagine Wandercrab without you."

He let himself look at them, really look at them. He'd never gotten to see their face unobscured like this, their eyes a vibrant green and their cheeks round and soft. Their eyelids were painted black, dark bags under their eyes. He hadn't even realized half of their head was shaved, their hair much longer on the other side. They were silent, staring at him.

"... Ink Cloak?"

"Ah," Ink Cloak said, soft and unsure. "Apologies, I just... was not expecting you to say such a thing."

"Well, it's true," Eel insisted, and Ink Cloak turned their face away. He frowned, shifting a bit to lean towards them. "What's wrong? Why are you out here?"

"I don't belong there," Ink Cloak murmured, turning their head to look at where Wandercrab rested. The lights of the city shone brightly, many different colors shimmering through the waters surrounding it. It cast the junkyard in a dim light of colorful shadows. "I don't belong in Wandercrab."

"Huh?" He looked at them, bewildered. What could have possibly led to that idea, Eel didn't know. "Of course you do! What makes you say that? Did someone say something to you? Do I gotta kick someone out?"

"No, no," Ink Cloak assured, their voice cracked and raw. "No, nothing was said to me. It was merely a fabrication of my own mind. Something I came to the conclusion of on my own."

Eel's frown deepened. "Well," he said, his voice soft and determined, "it's not true. Wandercrab is for everyone. You belong there just the same as I do, and if you don't belong in Wandercrab, then neither do I."

Ink Cloak stared at him, something like awed dismay on their face. "But I cannot stop thinking that that is untrue," they whispered. "I want to believe you, but you belong here, and I do not. What am I supposed to do when I can't even trust myself, or believe my own thoughts?"

"Trust me." Eel leaned forward a bit more, shifting where they sat and resting a hand on Ink Cloak's shoulder. "If you can't trust yourself, you can trust me until you can. Because I trust you, so if you trust me, then maybe it'll work out alright...?"

Ink Cloak looked at him, their gaze tired as it dropped from his face to the hand on their shoulder. Without a word, they took his hand in their own, holding it in both and staring down at it.

"You're such an odd cookie," they murmured, soft and simple, and lifted his hand to their mouth. The press of their lips to his knuckles made his breath hitch, heat drawn into his cheeks at the gentle action. "But somehow, you always know what to do."

Eel couldn't find his words, stiff and staring in surprise. The kiss tingled warmly against his hand, and the touch lingered long after it was gone. Their hand stayed grasped around his own, their fingers unnaturally cold against his. He didn't mind it, lowering his gaze to their joined hands.

"Electric Eel?" they asked softly, and Eel shook himself from his reverie.

"C'mon," he said with a little smile, squeezing their hand in his own and pulling himself to his feet. Ink Cloak followed without a word, their joined hands between the two of them. "I'm sure it's still happy hour at Choco Flounder's. Let's go get a drink."

Ink Cloak gave him a soft smile, looking down at him. Their hood was still down. Eel couldn't get enough of the sight of their face. "Lead the way," they said, in a tone that sounded more as though they were willing to follow him anywhere.

With his fluttering heart beating in his chest and their hand so neatly fit against his, Eel led the way out of the junkyard.

[disco-girl]

If you're still thinking about some Gusthol drabbles, I would love to see them with the almost kissing trope! 🙌💖

Yay thanks for the ask!

If anybody wants to send me some more they are from this list of prompts. I promise I’m gonna get to them all I’m just slow :p

Almost kissing

“C’mon Gus!” Vee called out, running ahead with the rest of the group as they sprinted to the end of the pier in a fit of giggles.

They had spent the day at the beach in the human realm with Camila, Luz, Amity, Willow, and Hunter plus Masha and Matt. At that point, Matt was the only one who hadn’t experienced the ocean yet and Gus spent the day laughing at him as he very cautiously attempted to get in the water (he refused to go in any further than his knees) and gawked wide-eyed with wonder at the hermit crabs that Luz caught. Matt then spent the rest of the day building a giant sand castle only to have a little boy abruptly run into it and knock it down. Gus had to intervene before he tried to bury the kid alive.

Now the sun had long been set and they were enjoying a moonlit stroll after dinner, trying to soak up every last second of their adventure before heading back home. But Matt had been uncharacteristically quiet that evening and now he lingered behind the others with his hands stuffed in his pockets, gazing out at the open water.

“I’ll catch up in a minute!” Gus yelled back at Vee before turning around and jogging back to where the constructionist had stopped and was now leaning against the pier’s railing.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Matt barely gave him a glance before going back to his brooding.

“Is everything okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. Just…thinking.”

Gus didn’t want to pry so he held his tongue and they stood in silence, watching the lights of a boat in the distance fade away.

“Thanks…for bringing me here today,” Matt said finally, turning his attention towards the younger witch. “It was nice.”

“Oh, well, it was actually Amity’s idea. I mean, not that I wouldn’t have wanted you here. Because I do. Want you here. I mean--ugh!” Gus covered his face with his hands in embarrassment, leaving just enough space between his fingers to see the corners of Matt’s mouth turn up in amusement at his misfortune. He was expecting the other to tease him but it never came. Instead, he removed his hands to find the older witch staring at him with an expression that he couldn’t discern.

The wind picked up and Matt’s hair was swept across his face. Gus reached up without thinking to brush it out of the way but his hand froze next to Matt’s face and they both locked eyes. Everything was still and the only thing that they could hear was the crashing of the waves against the pillars below while their other senses were overwhelmed by the scent and taste of salty sea air and suddenly Matt seemed to be getting closer and closer and as much as he knew what he wanted to happen, Gus was completely frozen, waiting with bated breath until their noses were almost touching and almost close enough to—

“Gus! Matt! We’re heading back to the car now! Hurry up, would you?” Hunter’s voice cut through the stillness and they both stumbled backward, cringing. Matt cleared his throat, gesturing towards where the others were waiting.

“Guess we should probably get going,” he said but Gus was still standing there with his mouth hanging open wondering What. Just. Happened. He would definitely need to have a long talk with Willow when they got back.

[kuma829]

Adonis FS2- Let my voice reach for you Chapter Two

Did you struggle… To be found by someone…

Cast: Adonis, Souma

Author: Suika

Season: Winter

Location: Beach

Proofed by: ketsuinoyaiba

Adonis: Huh, you just got here, Anzu? I just arrived too. It seems Kanzaki arrived a little bit earlier, it looks like he’s gazing over at the sea.

Souma: Hmm… It seems as though there are no drastic changes; that puts me at ease.

However, Shinkai-dono, too, would probably be more relieved if he sees for himself. Let’s take a picture with this “smartphone.”

“Press here to take a photo,” but why is my face on the screen? I do not wish to take a “selfie,” I wish to take a picture of the sea!

Hah?! What happened… The screen’s completely different now…?

Adonis: Calm down, Kanzaki. Let me take a look at it.

Looks like you’re on video mode, if you press here you’ll be on photo mode.

…? Huh…? Wasn’t it here?

Souma: Adonis-dono, it looks nothing like the other screen we saw. Is it possible to take a photo with this still?

Adonis: Give me a minute… I don’t know how to use smartphones that well either, so I’m a bit confused.

Souma: Aaah, that’s right! I must apologise! I am so sorry for rushing you!

…Hm…? It looks like it’s fixed?

Adonis: No, that’s not this phone. Look over there, Anzu is taking pictures of us.

Souma: Oh, that’s right… Anzu-dono is here to take photos for the “pamphlet.” I must apologise for all the ruckus.

You don’t mind? When Adonis-dono is with me, you get to see a different side of him? I’m happy to be of use.

Adonis: Alright, you should be able to take pictures of the sea now, Kanzaki. I want you to try it out now.

Souma: Aah, thank you.

Mhm! The ocean was captured in all its glory! ♪

Adonis: Hmm, thinking about it now, I’m pretty sure I’ve been to the beach with Anzu before.

But that was a foreign sea, the atmosphere was completely different—but the sea is as beautiful as ever.

Souma: Of course, the weather is good today, so the sea’s surface is shining ever-so brightly under the sun.

The ocean’s charm is that it changes depending on the weather and the ocean currents.

It is especially beautiful in this season, particularly in the early mornings, when the sky turns to white. And when snow falls, it’s a perfect scene! It reminds me of a saying, “early mornings in winter are the best.”

Adonis: I think I’ve heard about that before, wasn’t it related to an old Japanese book?

Souma: I expect nothing less of you, Adonis-dono! Your diligence is admirable; you are truly wonderful ♪

Adonis: No, I’m pretty sure you told me before.

You teach me a lot of things I do not know about this country, Kanzaki—not just you, Kanzaki, but Anzu and Oogami too.

This is the sea’s edge. I came from a land far from here, but you all accepted me all the same. I have a lot of good friends, and that makes me happy.

…I’m sorry. When I see the sea, it reminds me of my hometown. 

Souma: There’s no need to worry. Many people come to the sea to reflect on themselves. It allows us to accept our thoughts and emotions in its gentle embrace.

Moreover, if you can find your true feelings about your “feature live,” then it would all be worth reflecting here.

Adonis: Thank you… For Anzu and Kanzaki… And for my own sake, I hope I can get something out of this.

(I’m able to continue my idol activities in this foreign land alongside my friends. I think I have learned many things compared to when I first came here).

(Am I getting closer to my dream?)

Hmm…?

Souma: Are you alright, Adonis-dono?

Adonis: The sand between my feet is moving…

…! Kanzaki, there’s a tiny creature that jumped out of the sand!?

Souma: Calm yourself… Hmm, looks like it is taking a rest. What a rare occurrence in a place like this.

Adonis: Is it rare for hermit crabs to be near the sea…?

Souma: No, I didn't mean it in that way. Shinkai-dono told me that hermit crabs are usually found on the sea shore this time of year, so I was taken aback to see one beneath the sand. 

Adonis-dono, let’s take the hermit crab over there.

Adonis: Are you sure I’m the right person for the job…? Wouldn’t they get hurt by my touch?

Souma: There is nothing to be afraid of. Someone as kind-hearted as the Adonis-dono I know would only make a creature feel at ease. Hold it just as you usually do, in your gentle grasp. 

Adonis: Anzu, you also think it’s fine? Understood, I’ll try it.

Oooh… Such a small creature is moving in the palm of my hand…

Look over here, Anzu. Isn’t it cute? I could end up staring at it forever.

Souma: You scooped it up perfectly. Let’s take it over to the shoreline over there. Are you comfortable doing so?

Adonis: Aah, don’t you worry. I would never even dream of dropping it.

Hmph, the wind is strong. With the way things are going, the hermit crab will end up getting blown away…!?

Oh, is the wind slowing? Will the hermit crab be safe…?

Looks like it’s taking cover in its shell. I’m glad; it looks like you can protect yourself. Allow me to take you to the shore before the wind starts coming down again.

I’m sorry if you felt scared with me. Please go back to your friends now.

Heh… —Anzu? You’re surprised I noticed the hermit crab?

The sand was moving strangely, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out what was going on.

Kanzaki, I should also thank you. I could find hermit crabs by myself, but I would have never thought to bring them to shore.

Souma: I didn’t help too much, I just gave you some knowledge I had.

I do not know what happened with the hermit crab exactly, but it likely got swept away by the waves from the shore onto the sand.

I am sure it was desperately trying to get back to the shore once more.

I am sure that it felt like begging people to find it on this large beach, and its patience finally paid off when you found it, Adonis-dono.

I am certain the hermit crab appreciated it.

Adonis: Did you struggle… To be found by someone…

Souma: What did you say?

Adonis: It’s nothing… I just thought the hermit crab was like me.

I’ve been singing for a long time too, for songs are a way to express your wishes and your feelings.

This is what I cherish most as Otogari Adonis of UNDEAD. I hope my voice can bring someone peace, even if only for a moment.

I want my voice to be echoed around the world, and I want you to know… I am here.

I have been trying my best to have my dream be heard. That’s what I want for my “feature live.”

Could you consider taking the pamphlet into that direction…?

Souma: So you want to tell the world, then? …Fufu, what a lovely “thought,” it is just like you, Adonis-dono. I cannot wait to see the end result of the “pamphlet.”

Adonis: Ah, then I will be sure to meet the expectations of those who are looking forward to my “feature live.”

No matter where I am in this world, I will be sure to send my voice across the oceans.

Chapter One

[cloudyswritings]

You know I’m really starting to think that the beach is haunted. I mean in hindsight it makes a ton of sense honestly. Think about it for a second, you’ve got all of the washed up shells, and starfish, and snails, and like urchins and crabs and shit. Plus sometimes ray and shark eggs. And they’re all just piled up there in a giant lump. Like can you imagine the sheer number of ghosts? And that’s not even thinking about all the fish and other sealife that die there during the red tide, the died gasping for air, choking on the very waves they once called home. That’s not even thinking about things like mass stranding events or beached whales, or all of the little shore creatures kids have accidentally stepped on at the beach. I mean shit, if I were a hermit crab and my entire career got ended cause some fucking kid chucked me at a rock or stepped on me or something I’d be pretty pissed.

Now, you may be asking, okay cloudy but why would they even haunt the beach just cause their shells and corpses ended up there. And like, yeah fair enough, but consider this:

You’re a fish or a snail or something, all of your life has been spent roaming the best hand depth of the sea, but one day you die, and that’s like fine you know? You’re just a little guy and honestly your life expectancy wasn’t so great anyway, so you’re pretty chill with being dead. You drift for a bit and wait to be returned to the food chain. Only that doesn’t happen, instead it’s suddenly too dry, and hot, and the sand is scraping you apart piece by minute piece. You, as much as you can be conscious, being dead and all, are kinda freaking the fuck out. What’s even worse though is that you can tell you’re not alone, in fact there’s others like you, stuck in place and boiling and terrified, and the ocean is right there! But you can’t move, you can only wait and watch, and scream or chitter or whatever it is you do. Except you can’t even do that, because you’re dead. So you join the silently terrified masses, you hope it ends soon, you even dare to think it will. You’re wrong, you’re just out of reach of the high tide, you won’t be set to rest or returned to the sea anytime soon. Worse still, you can hear something approaching you, and feel the sharp crunching noises of those around you being shattered. And great fleshy mouth(?) reaches down to grab you, and brings you before a ghastly eye, the same color as the shells around you. You’re tilted this way and that before you’re shoved somewhere else, somewhere dark. You can feel yourself moving away from the pile, and for a second you’re relived. It doesn’t last long, you feel the sea getting further and further away…

So yeah anyway, just keep the ghosts that weren’t pretty enough to take home In mind when you visit the beach, cause that shit is haunted to hell and back.

[loosesodamarble]

Sun, Sand, and Sea

Summary: Cyraleona enjoys the beach in her own way and finds some things interesting, and some thing strange. Genre: general Word count: ~1000 A/N: Here's the penultimate oneshot. And this one is again focused on a single character.

..........

Cyraleona saw gold and blue, the sandy shore and the endless ocean. A fuzzy white line of sea foam pushed up or pulled back the land with the moving tides. The sight was beautiful, dazzling even. The weather, with the sun shining above and a salty breeze keeping her cool, was perfect. The sound of splashing and laughter from other beach goers in the water reminded her of the fun she could be having.

Instead, Cyraleona directed her gaze back down to the book she’d brought along. She rested on her stomach across a beach towel. An umbrella leaned over her and kept her out of the sun. The beach was beautiful, but so was prose.

“Cyra, you’re still here?”

She looked up to see Leonidas standing in front of her and gazing down with pinched brows. His hair was soaked and sand clung to his legs.

“Yes, I’m here,” Cyraleona muttered back.

“Did you not put on your sunscreen yet?” Leonidas asked as he crouched.

“I put it on.” Cyraleona sighed at her brother’s wariness. “I just wanted to finish my page first.”

Leonidas hummed. “Do you not like the beach?” 

“Wha—? No, that’s not it! The beach is beautiful! I mean look at that clear water and the sun doesn’t feel too bright and—” Cyraleona babbled. “I’m enjoying myself here, Leon. You don’t need to worry at all—”

“Then what’s wrong?” He sat down on his own towel and looked to Cyraleona.

“Well… Nothing really. I just… feel like lounging.”

It wasn’t the first time Cyraleona had been to the beach. She’d gone on strolls at beaches in Thea with her mother as a child. And the whole family had vacationed at private beach houses before. Today, though, she and Leon were on their own in Raquey, taking a break from their missions and studies. Even with all the people and her usual withdrawn nature, everyone at the beach that day was in their own worlds and their cheerful voices made the beach atmosphere feel complete.

“At least stretch your legs a little,” Leonidas suggested as he grabbed a fistful of sand and let it slip from between his fingers.

“But they are stretched.” To emphasize, she kicked her feet in the air behind her.

“Ah hah… Then allow me to take a turn keeping vigil over our things.”

Cyraleona giggled. “Okay then.” She tucked away her book, slipped on her sandals, then left for a stroll.

As she walked, she noticed things. How the sand looked wasn’t just yellow but also an off-white or even faint pink in some spots. How the water wasn’t perfectly blue but instead a deep teal, tinted green by algae no doubt. 

Cyraleona walked further. The number of people grew smaller. The more unkempt the beach looked as it was further from the main beach resort. The only sounds were that of the sea breeze, the rolling waves, and seagulls high above.

She stopped walking when she saw she was in front of a towering coastal cliff that even extended into the ocean.

How far did I walk…?

Drawing closer, her eye caught specks of color tucked in the shadow of the cliff. Once she was close enough, she realized that they were from tide pools and the small creatures that called them home. Cyraleona approached and knelt down between two neighboring ones.

For being only a few inches deep at most, the tiny ecosystems teemed with life.

Sea urchins waved their spines through the water. Sea slugs crawled across the algae covered floors of the tide pools. Barnacles and mussels poked out of their protective covers every now and again. One was home to wrestling starfish and an eel slithering through holes only wide enough for a pencil. Hermit crabs shuffled along in another. When her shadow passed over another tidepool, the miniscule fish that were swimming about zipped from view to hide.

Cyraleona giggled as she hopped between the tide pools and observed how each one differed.

Then, she noticed a pool that was darker than all the rest. She knelt by it and frowned. It seemed barely an inch deep yet nothing but dark shadows quivered in the water. No signs of life at all.

“Weird…” Cyraleona looked up to see that this pool was closest to the cliff, the furthest in the shadows. So, she tentatively held out her hand and summoned a ball of burning light to cast into the water, hoping she’d be able to actually see into the water. “Huh?!”

The light of her spell chased away the shadows and revealed that the pool was actually an opening to an underwater tunnel leading… somewhere. A magic rune engraved into the rock made it clear that someone intended to hide this entrance.

Cyraleona turned her head, quietly fearing that she might’ve alerted someone. Or something.

But after what felt like an eternity, though was probably less than a minute, Cyraleona felt sure nothing was coming for her and relaxed.

Still curious but also cautious, she dipped a hand into the water. Despite the rune, there was no other magic emanating from the water. Meaning it likely wasn’t a dungeon entrance.

“But then what could it be? What could possibly be hiding on the other side?” Cyraleona stared at the tunnel entrance for a moment longer before sighing. “I’ve probably been away long enough…” she realized.

Cyraleona stood up and wove her way around the tide pools once again to start the walk back to her brother. She dared a glance back but nothing of interest was there.

Maybe I’ll come back with Leon and Nora. Or maybe even Mom and Dad in case it’s actually dangerous… Cyraleona mused.

Along the way back, she happened to find an empty conch and a few sand dollars, and she decided to pick them up. At least she’d come away from the beach with nice souvenirs and not just a weird mystery.

[nfumbewalk]

Charmed, I'm Sure

Well, what a freaking great day. I don't go into much mundane here but my husband and I were put through the ringer! Seems that way. We aren't huge fans of the outside world. We're little hermit crabs. I was raised that way, he wasn't. My family was mostly antisocial. I say "was" because my grandparents are dead & my parents are dead, I have a sibling who is "dead to me," and maybe a few uncles, aunts & few cousins that are living. I can say that I don't know my family at all, anymore. Bothers me, not. Only ones I was attached to was my dad, who passed last summer & my grandma who immigrated here to Ore. from West Germany in 1947. But, ppl say ain't you white? You look white. What is this? Cultural appropriation!?!

My color never bothered my Cuban & Black teachers any! Of what? Palo & Ifá, respectfully. This was before 2016. Did not matter. Now, after the Wokedom arose, color suddenly matters. How racist is that? 😅 The deities certainly DO NOT give a crap. I get great responses & no, they aren't "unknown" spirits or whatever bullshit you see on Reddit.

Some ppl say if you build an Orisa altar without "being in the religion" that the Orisa won't see it or you & won't appreciate it! Bullshit! Ppl seriously think the Orisa are *that* narrow minded or that they don't accept the uninitiated? Flat out fucking retarded, right there! No one starts out initiated!!! Duh.

And heritage, race, creed, color has NOTHING to do with religion or spirituality. Now, no more! Done!

Onto the rest of my post. I chose the image above because Obatala has great meaning to me & I'm starting some personal goals with him He inspires me to "stay cool" which isn't really my easiest ability. He is also inspiring me to write by giving me the wisdom to know what to write, then Santa Muerte is a huge part of that - mostly helping me with critical content & drive to move forward. Obatala is also giving me the "Creator" vibe for my work, though my necromancy is definitely not as great of a creation as human life. 😊

I just got my candles in the mail, one GROSS and 48 more. I usually get two gross. Keeps my practice alive! 💀 Spendy? Not really, but learn to use white for *every* purpose & it works! A candle is a candle, just like any tool - it's the intention. Yes, ALL intent is ALL you need. Don't give me "This color is better..." Sorry. Ya won't win. Tested for 3 straight years & verified. Do I use colors? Yes, I do & love them. I'm talking getting magic results with practicality. Wins every time. There is one trick for cursing that a book threw out there years ago - turning your white candle upside down makes it work !like a black one.

No, it doesn't. Much better results sticking thin iron nails in it after anointing it with a cursing oil, like a Martial one. Burn it in front of a large piece of obsidian (like a obsidian mirror) & listen as the nails drop. A white taper is used here.

Anyways, Obatala is the King of the White Cloth. I love spending time with him. And saying his oriki (praise poems) always makes me happier. The Orisa come daily, but certain days are stronger. My mother's were with me this morning. I have to get to Obatala tonight for our routine. Santa Muerte also gets her attention, but our relationship differs than most of her devotees.

I don't ask for "stuff" from her. I pray to her for keeping me & my husband safe & together, to watch my 24 year old son, or certain friends to get well. I'm not a person of many wants or needs. Yes, I have very big forces but I am not the best liked person either. Why?

I'll speak many, many things - but the true secrets of any path? No. I was a known person before & I won't do it again, at least until my writing project takes off. Proj. #163.190 has it's wings. I'm in the beginning. Will take awhile!

Ah, well. Shit. Prolly write something else!

J. -Necromantress

[radioproto]

I had such a great time at HOSA International Leadership Conference! This was my first year making it (really just my first year as a HOSA member overall) and it was a little scary, but it was certainly fun. Huge shoutout to my instructor who took me there and spent the whole time guiding me and hanging out with me when we went places. I wouldn’t even have made it without her, and I’m so glad I could experience all this ^v^

And since we were in Houston, we had to do some sight-seeing. Other adventures of mine are below the cut :]

We couldn’t go to Houston and not visit the NASA museum! Here are a few pictures from there, including the huge Saturn V rocket!

We also drove down to Galveston to explore Moody Gardens and the big pyramids of exploration there (mostly to visit a human anatomy exhibit like the nerds we are), and we spent the rest of the day at the beach. There were hermit crabs- such little cuties ^w^

This trip was definitely a memorable experience that I will treasure

[waddledab]

wtf pls tell me abt your splatoon mlp au???

OH boy. oh boy. anon I am so glad you asked. putting this under a read more so I don't clog people's dashes lmao (also forgive me for my thoughts not being organized)

ok so this is based on friendship is magic bc that's the only one I've seen and it's like... if the mane six were in splatoon? specifically splatoon 3 bc that's the one I had on my mind lol anyways. freshness is magic

Twilight is an octarian soldier (like, the only one left for some reason) sent by Octavio to investigate the Splatlands about the disappearances of the other Octarians while he says he "won't be too far behind" (foreshadowing)

on the way there she meets spike. he's the "little buddy" smallfry of this. no he will not tell her what spike is short for or why he was in the middle of the desert when he met her

Oh yeah and only twilight can understand him bc she speaks salmonid. he just sounds like gurgles to the rest of the gang

twilight gets a transmission from Octavio basically telling her to go to Splatsville specifically, "blend in, make friends, keep a low profile, whatever"

just outside of splatsville they run into fluttershy (her name is probably different but I can't think of a good one so she's just fluttershy for now). she's a sea slug (kinda like flow) bc look at this image.

it's literally just her. come on

she's heading into town too and it basically goes like the show where she's like "omg is that a salmonid... wowie......."

MEANWHILE in Splatsville:

Pinkie (inkling), Dash (octoling who grew up in the Splatlands), and Jack (inkling) are all friends but they're in a bit of a pickle. they wanna do turf wars but they need a 4th person and the random people they keep getting matched with just don't vibe very well :(

enter twilight. (and fluttershy) (and spike)

Pinkie goes "GAAAAASP HEY HEY WANNA JOIN OUR TURF WAR TEAM"

at first twilight's like "Ugh no" but then spike is like "heyyyyy part of your missionnnn was making friiiiiends rememeberrrrr?"

so she joins the team. fine sure whatever I'm not gonna get attached (she gets attached)

Twilight is a charger main. e-liter menace

Dash is a dualies main because of course

Pinkie is good with all weapons tbh but her favorites are rollers and blasters

Jack mains N-Zap 64 and she is a tacticooler mvp

At one point they're like "Hey twi love the military drip but like you gotta get some drip"

enter rarity. i don't really have a clear mental image of her yet but she is crab. probably hermit crab? tamatoa ass back I know that for sure

she moved to the splatlands from Inkopolis and started a boutique there

she's a brush main btw "hey Earnest you dipshit only inklings and octolings do turf war" nuh uh big man canonically plays turf war AND salmon run so there

(fluttershy doesn't like doing turf war and doesn't have a main for obvious reasons) (but she does cheer them on) (spike does too bc he's not allowed in the Turf War building :( )

anyways. twilight and the gang are now besties. enter cuttlefish.

Dash: hey is it just me or is that old guy staring at us from the sewers

Pinkie: I'm gonna go follow him lol

this action has consequences.

they're all agent 3 now (3.1-3.7) but cuttlefish only has one set of hero gear. "sorry guys you're all shit out of luck" (of course twilight gets it bc protag disorder) and rarity's all "well Fine I can make hero gear for the rest of us"

crater proceeds as normal with twilight, pinkie, dash, and jack each taking one level. twilight is... *unnerved* by the current status of the octarian troops

enter octavio. hes fucking pissed. this is his natural state of being tho

he calls out twilight for being a TRAITOR and she feels bad blah blah blah they kick his ass

again it proceeds as normal but when twilight wakes up. she's alone (except for spike). as it turns out all of her besties landed on different islands somehow bc this might as well happen

Twilight is island 1, jack is island 2, pinkie is island 3, fluttershy is island 4, dash is island 5, and rarity is island 6 working on everyone's agent outfits all along so they got their group swag by the end of it

again story is pretty much the same from there. kill that bear

and so the world is saved with the power of friendship :)

unfortunately celestia and luna don't really exist by virtue of octavio kind of taking celestia's role? rip queens we loved you so much but you were replaced by old men unfortunately. sad

[thatfishingseawing]

my schedule as a seawing pearldiver

6:00 AM: wake up rather late to restock at the sea kingdom capital (im not telling you where it is)/OR a nearby town, having slept there overnight. visit all the stands and such, support local businesses. sell the pearls and whatever else i have to whoever buys it, or barter them away for dried fish.

8:00 AM: finish up, and then set out. i can pull the boat from the front using a harness. its rather bulky, but makes it much easier to carry things with me while im out at sea. plus, its a good landmark if any nosey skywings want to drop in and say hello.

9:00 AM: reach the peaceful part of the ocean. no dragons in sight. this is when i begin pearldiving. i drop the rope attached to my boat over the side, and dive under the water. its an extremely long (and rather colourful, since its dyed different hues) rope, so at times i tug it along with me if i need to. most the time i just leave it in place, tie the end of the rope to a piece of coral (i dont like doing that, because it can damage the coral) or shove it under a rock or something.

12:00 PM: usually rest at this point. sometimes i surface every 20 minutes to drop off pearls ive got with me, or other goodies that ive managed to find. some researchers pay a LOT for some old banged up cup i find upended in the sand.

12:30 PM: finish eating lunch. usually dried fish. i dont feel like hunting a lot of the time.

12:45 PM: hang about on my boat in the case that goshawk is on patrol that day. his outpost is sort of close to where i often go. being vague for his safety.

1:45 PM: if goshawk appears, i usually chat with him for an hour before he has to go back. maybe more.

4:00/5:00 PM: if goshawk doesnt show up, then continue pearl diving for another 3~ hours.

6:00 PM: eat dinner. once again, dried meat if i can get it. once, goshawk toasted a bobcat for me. tasted like ash, and also horrible.

7:00 PM: this depends. i either shore up and find a place to sleep on land (bad idea if im near the mud kingdom due to. you know. the war.), or i toss a sea-coloured blanket over my little boat and go sleep underwater and hope no one steals my stuff. its happened before. passing mudwing group got hungry. i wonder how they even made it that far out?? maybe its the power of friendship, or something.

8:30 PM: sleep. sometimes i go visit goshawk's outpost. he has wine. its pretty cool but makes swimming and flying impossible.

10:00 PM: sleep if i've been staying up with goshawk.

and thats it! often times i go restock one or twice a month, more if ive 'packed light', as they say. dunno who says it but someone does.

hope this was an interesting read? let me know if you want more stuff like this. but you have to actually, you know, send an ask about it. im not a mind reading, no matter how mysterious and cool and nightwing-esque i might seem.

hermit crab, signing off.

[dawnlotus-draws]

Hello! I’m working on a Quest for Madoka on Sufficient Velocity(if u don’t know what that is, it’s a role play where the readers can interact and basically choose your own adventure with the player character). It takes place during MagiReco, and I’d love to be able to get original Witches to use for enemies in the quest. So, I decided to ask tumblr folks. If you’re comfortable with it, would it be possible for me to use your oc? If not, it’s totally okay! I know it’s a bizarre ask.

Hello! :D First of all sure! What OC of mine are you thinking of? Cuz I haven’t posted about them a ton and I actually have a LOT of Madoka Magica OCs. If you want I can get some of the other original witches I have made. Personally I’m honored to be asked XD I will throw my little guys at everything. I’d love to be linked to whatever you end up making, so please let me know when it’s up!

I’m honestly sorry for infodumping below, but I can’t help anytime I get to talk about my magical girls XD so ignore this if the above permission was all you needed LOL.

———— info on lots of characters below——-

In terms of OCs I’ve got

Dionaea (has a witch design)

Khaori (has a witch design)

Asami (has a witch design)

Mitsu (no witch)

Jundo (no witch)

Haru (no witch)

Bluebell (has a witch design)

To find information on Dionaea, Khaori, and Asami check out my art fight account I’ve got Bios on them there. You need an artfight account to view any page on art fight I think? Anyway here’s what to type if the links are not working. https://artfight.net/~Dawnlotus The rest of the stuff I’ll try to cover very lightly lol.

Khaori’s witch looks like this. Its nature is evasive. The witch resembles an eel skeleton that hides in her labyrinth, her familiars are other sea creatures such as crabs and goldfish with human legs. They collect possessions of emotional importance from in and out side of the labyrinth and bring them back to decorate the hermit shell the main witch hides in. The main witch’s mouth looks like a stump of a severed limb pouring out a dark red photo developing acid. The angler fish bulb suspended over its head flash bangs any suspected danger, allowing the witch to get away, and prints a photo thru the mouth side of the two holes on either side of its head. One side has a mouth with teeth around a eye shaped hole, the other side with eyelashes you can see thru to the brain floating in the acid. Sorry these are just uncolored sketches! These are the only ones I’m happy with LOL.

Asami’s witch looks like this. Its nature is to endure. Fueled by a firey rage it uses its massive arms to climb around its labyrinth, which looks like a toy town where all the buildings are seashells and a couple skyscrapers here and there. The skyscrapers have large pegs or weapons plunged into them that the witch herself climbs on. The sky is a blanket of clouds with silver lining and droplets of gold and silver and glass are suspended on chains like rain. The witch herself has an aggressive nature despite her small size, and can stretch like an accordion. The roots coming from the body can also reach and attack/climb like tendrils. Its familiars are toy mice with different flowers instead of eyes and wheat for fur. These familiars search for a way out of the labyrinth but can never find one, only leading around their witch to taller and taller skyscrapers. I apologize that these are also uncolored.

An image of both Khaori and Asami.

In an effort to keep this post shorter, the more info you would find on their artfight bios I have attached in the Alt Text.

Oh boy I don’t want make this too long so here’s an image of Mitsu and Jundo but I won’t get into their stories n stuff. It’s complicated. All you need to know is that they’re in gay love <3 No witch concepts yet. Mitsu on the left, Jundo on the right.

Haru I’ve got very little on her that’s solid. She’s the youngest magi I have, contacted at 8/9 and currently 12, a veteran who’s every “party” she’s been a part of died. She has the ability to fly and scouts, but because she’s especially young others prioritize her safety, even when they are more at risk. No witch design yet.

Bluebell I made like forever ago for a contest, she is based on the legend of Bluebeard. Image ID for the photo in the Alt Text.

A very brief summary of her character is that she’s kind of a merge of Bluebeard and the 7th wife in a twisted bad way. She’s like a Kira deathnote type, who kills people she believes to be evil. Her wish was to know her boyfriends deepest secret, and upon learning he was a serial killer she killed him and starts using her power to kill other criminals, becoming the serial killer. Her morals quickly deteriorate and she becomes extremely judgmental, looking into people heads and taking their intrusive thoughts or any secrets they have and deciding if they should be punished or not. Because she spent her time enacting her “judgment”, detrimental to her magic and her mental health, she witchifies. Her witch is a gargoyle, a guard of nasty secrets. Some of its familiars are gossipers (similar to the uwasa spreaders in magireco) who follow rumors and upon finding someone with a nasty secret brings the other familiars, knights that bring anyone from inside or outside the labyrinth to the witch for their judgement. If they are judged unworthy by the gaze of the gargoyle they are impaled on the layers of fences and gates that guard the witch to set an “example”. I have no image of Bluebell as a magical girl that I am solid on soooo. Yeah. Just have the witch.. made yrs ago and also needs an update..

Dionaea I already have a post on. Read here :D She also has all images I have of her currently on Artfight, but here is her updated magical girl design.

I don’t have a ton of info on her witch, but it’s familiars are like Mario style piranha plants and Venus fly traps with actual teeth l, fangs and molars, whose mouths are shut by belts, general dangerous plants you would find in a jungle, corpse flowers and pitcher plants, as well as monstress flies of varying sizes and mutation. The labyrinth is like a overgrown greenhouse with massive jungle plants.

—————————-

Feel free to ask more questions, or if you would like any character elaborated on. Etc etc im foaming at the mouth. I didn’t know if you wanted info on just witches or also magical girls? So I uhh included both. And I would love to see what project you are working on, anything pmmm or magireco I’m always looking for more cool fan content. Have a nice day. I hope this was a suitable answer.

[ntls-24722]

i finally got to work on mermay

BOOYAH

djmm is based off blue ringed octopi because i am forever mad that these damn beautiful little things will kill me. they will kill me bad. they will kill me dead! why must all the beautiful seathings kill me

there is also this little hermit crab guy that im fond of. he's dripped out. but not as dripped out as the decorator crab MM

there is this,

and there is my dilemma with my persona. I have made him too cool. I am , again, a skinny little dude. I can't live up to this gymbro who preaches about positivity and nontoxic masculinity. from now on i will refer to him as my swagsona.

what else did i draw

OH RIGHT

"Comet learns the consequences of chewing his arm off"

Content warning for: the bloody aftermath of Comet chewing his arm off. Also, youthful Fritz, without a full mustache and his general old man swag. Gross

AKA: the moment where SOS took a sharp turn from being a reasonable FNAF AU to the Gravity Falls Bullshit it is Now

Surprise, the robot has organs! and isn't a robot! Nobody's allowed to work on him so they don't find out about that. Even Comet is surprised about the news - that's what this whole thing is.

Comet, through very unethical methods, has been conditioned to believe he is a robot and to behave like a robot, alongside other protocols to help fulfill his unsavory duty of taking patrons out back and Totally Eating Them (Though, he never remembers this). One of those protocols has been the removal of blood at all costs. Including, and especially so, his own!

Problem: he doesn't know how blood works, or being alive works, since that's the whole purpose of getting conditioned. He got a little cut on his finger behind the stage and, due to this, thought that the reasonable thing to do was to just remove the source of the blood.

So he tore off the finger. And that clearly didn't work, now there's way more blood than there was before, so he chewed his hand in half, then the rest of it, and... now he's bleeding out on the stage floor and half his arm is missing.

Also, the reason why Fritz's face is far more comical than it should be in a serious situation is that, A. For reasons I'll explain later, he's used to the sight of giant monstrosities, and B, He was expecting (and hoping for) a crime scene. He's honestly just confused rather than scared shitless.

He got him help though. Both physically and mentally. Comet has a therapist.